* 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


OF 


JAMES  L  SMITH, 


INCLUDING,    ALSO, 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SLAVE  LIFE,  RECOLLECTIONS 

OF  THE  WAR,  EDUCATION  OF  FREEDMEN, 

CAUSES  OF  THE  EXODUS,  ETC. 


NORWICH: 

PRESS   OF    THE    BULLETIN   COMPANY. 
l88l. 


E1-44- 
Sfc 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1881, 

BY  JAMES  L.  SMITH, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO   THE    MEMORY    OF 
MY    FATHER, 

CHARLES  PAYNE, 

WHO    LIES    IN    A    NAMELESS, 

UNKNOWN     GRAVE,. 

THIS    VOLUME 

IS     DEDICATED. 


M126589 


PREFACE 


THK  writer  would  bring  before  the  public  the  narrative  of  his 
life  while  in  bondage,  which  is  substantially  true  in  all  its  details. 
The  painful  wrongs  inflicted  then  and  now  have  caused  the  writer, 
though  many  years  have  passed,  to  take  up  the  publication  of  this 
narrative  of  himself.  There  are  many  incidents  and  characters 
described  in  this  narrative  personally  known  to  the  writer,  which 
make  him  anxious  to  put  forth  some  effort,  however  humble  it  may 
be,  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  his  now  suffering  people,  in  or 
der  that  the  facts  may  confirm  the  truthful  saying:  "My  people 
will  be  styled  a  nation  yet,  and  also  claim  their  nationality."  For 
this  they  have  fought  and  suffered  hundreds  of  years  in  servitude 
and  bondage.  It  is  a  fact  which  ought  to  thrill  the  heart  of  every 
American  citizen  to  see  the  interest  they  take  in  learning  ;  the  un 
tiring  exertions  they  make  to  overcome  every  obstacle,  even  death 
itself  to  acquire  it.  It  is  what  God  has  promised  :  "  To  be  a  God 
to  the  faithful  and  to  their  seed  after  them." 

The  writer  hopes  not  to  weary  your  patience  in  reviewing  his 
narrative,  which  is  fraught  with  so  many  exciting  scenes.  It  is  the 
duty  of  men  to  occupy  places  of  power  and  trust,  therefore  our 
rulers,  above  all  others,  ought  to  be  holy  and  devoted  men  There 
are,  however,  some  found  in  every  age  of  the  world  who  believe 
in  freedom  of  thought  and  speech  ;  and  many  who  are  untiring  in 
their  efforts  to  secure  the  future  well-being  of  those  intrusted  to 
their  care  ;  it  affords  the  most  powerful  argument  to  influence  the 


VI.  PREFACE. 

minds  of  some.  It  is  believed  that  no  one  who  reads  attentively, 
and  reflects  seriously,  will  doubt  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand, 
which  is  spoken  of  by  God  :  "Ye  shall  let  my  people  go  free." 
Now  the  great  revolution  seems  to  me  to  have  come  ;  now  is  the 
time  for  us  to  act  in  trying  to  save  that  which  was  lost  ;  in  stimu 
lating  them  to  education  ;  and  in  building  homes  and  school- 
houses  for  their  children,  that  they  may  become  honorable  and  re 
spectable  citizens  of  the  States  to  which  they  have  acceded.  We 
want  earnest  laborers  amongst  us,  for  those  who  are  instructing  my 
people  are  few  and  far  between  ;  and  we  have  been  deprived  of 
education  by  the  hand  of  slavery  and  servitude,  which  has  been 
brought  upon  us  by  the  slave-holder.  I  feel  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
people  to  take  up  our  cause,  and  instruct  wherever  they  can. 

Our  ignorance,  which  is  often  spoken  of,  and  for  which  we  are 
not  to  blame,  is  caused  by  this  ill,  slavery  ;  and  the  whipping  post 
was  resorted  to  if  any  attempt  was  made  to  learn  the  alphabet.  I 
can  say  in  the  fullness  of  my  heart  that  there  is  no  darkness  equal 
to  this,  not  even  the  Egyptian  darkness  which  is  spoken  of  by  mis- 
sionaries  now  laboring  in  foreign  lands.  I  only  pray  to  hope  on, 
and  on,  that  God  may  .appear  in  our  behalf,  and  let  the  sun  of 
civilization  and  education  be  extended  among  my  people  until  it 
shall  reach  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  land  to  land.  Then  shall 
Ethiopia  stretch  forth  her  hand  unto  God  and  call  you  blessed. 
I  thank  God  for  what  I  have  seen  and  experienced  so  far  in  regard 
to  the  amelioration  of  our  condition  as  a  people.  I  hardly  expect 
to  see  the  completion  of  the  act  of  liberty  which  was  commenced 
by  our  most  earnest  friend,  Senator  Sumner.  "  See  to  the  Civil 
Rights  Bill  ;  do  n't  let  it  fail,"  were  among  his  last  words  to  his 
associate  who  stood  beside  the  dying  senator.  • 

This  volume  speaks  of  our  earnest  desire  for  more  liberty  and 
rights  as  a  free  people,  and  that  our  children  may  enjoy  that  of 
which  we  have  been  deprived.  Never  was  the  effectiveness  of  our 
Christian  instrumentalities  in  other  lands  more  dependent  than 
now  upon  the  vigorous  and  progressive  development  of  Christian 
principles  at  home. 

As  we  are  entering  upon  a  new  decade  our  thoughts  go  back  to 
1861  ;  and  what  a  period  is  this  to  review  !  Could  we  have  held 


PREFACE.  Vll. 

the  glass  to  our  vision  and  seen  what  the  nation  would  accomplish 
in  its  terrible  struggle  for  existence,  who  would  not  have  shrunk 
from  the  almost  miraculous  undertaking  ?  But  God  had  the  blank 
years  before  Him,  and  as  they  passed,  He  proceeded  to  fill  out  the 
record.  Nineteen  years  ago  we  were  rocking  in  the  swell  of  the 
gathering  storm  which  was  so  soon  and  unexpectedly  to  break  in 
its  fury,  and  who  could  tell  how  many  were  to  perish  and  go  down 
ere  its  fury  should  be  spent.  In  the  strike  which  slavery  made  for 
the  ascendancy,  how  little  did  we  know  through  what  terrible  re 
vulsions  it  would  pass  on  its  way  to  destruction.  The  cry  was, 
u  slavery  must  go  down."  How  many  mighty  obstacles  must  fall 
before  the  march  of  the  avalanche.  How  many  disputed  the  ques 
tion  at  the  time,  as  to  how  this  should  be  accomplished.  But  like 
the  great  iceberg  when  soft  winds  blow,  and  gentle  rays  fall  on  it, 
whether  God  would  prostrate  it  as  he  does  great  cities  when  earth 
quakes  rock  them,  was  the  question  to  be  considered.  Such  was 
our  uncertainty  then  ;  but  these  counsels  were  made  known  to  us 
more  speedily  than  we  dreamed. 

We  have  seen  how  the  system  df  slavery  was  to  be  destroyed  ; 
and  there  is  work  for  the  Christian  Church,  there  are  responsibili 
ties  on  Christian  hearts  which  we  did  not  anticipate  nineteen  years 
ago.  National  politics  have  brought  about  many  incidental  ques 
tions  ;  but  there  is  a  period  of  new  and  aggressive  work  in  which 
we  are  led  to  go  forward  and  possess  the  land.  Such  a  burden  of 
duty  as  it  bears  upon  us  at  this  time,  to  remember  that  we  are 
hourly  approaching  opportunities  and  responsibilities  greater  than 
we  have  hitherto  known.  In  this  spirit  we  have  labored  for  the 
grand  conquests  which  to-day  are  calling  us  onward.  In  this 
spirit  we  must  toil  now.  How  much  we  ask,  bringing  to  you 
our  pressing  wants — come  over  and  help  us,  for  my  people  are  in 
need  of  instruction,  both  spiritual  and  educational  ;  and  in  thus 
aiding  us  you  will  accomplish  a  work  of  far  reaching  power,  of 
which  you  have  now  no  comprehension.  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who 
can  be  against  us?  " 

May  this  narrative  awaken  some  to  still  greater  earnestness  in 
working  for  Christ,  and  freedom  through  the  land.  "  Be  not  weary 
in  well  doing,  for  in  due  season  ye  shall  reap  if  ye  faint  not."  It 


Vlll.  PREFACE. 

is  my  privilege  to  speak  about  the  impoverished  people  of  the 
South,  and  those  main  pillars  of  our  Republic,  the  Church  and 
the  School :  thus  following  up  the  victories  of  our  arms  with  the 
sublimer  victories  of  Christian  love.  What  tremendous  agencies 
God  has  employed  within  these  few  years,  and  what  He  has  caused 
to  be  exerted  for  all  generations  to  come  ;  and  if  there  is  one 
scripture  which  is  most  forcibly  illustrated  and  impressed  upon  me 
than  any  other,  it  is  this  :  "  Whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall  be  on 
the  morrow."  Who  could  have  foreseen  how  much  God  would 
bring  to  pass  in  these  nineteen  years  ?  Could  the  author  have  held 
the  glass  to  his  vision,  and  seen  what  the  nation  would  accomplish 
in  its  terrible  struggle  for  existence,  he  would  have  despaired  ;  but 
as  the  period  has  arrived,  my  people  are  determined  to  go  forward 
and  possess  the  land  which  will  bring  our  children  within  the  pale 
of  intellectual  training  in  the  institutions  of  education  and  religion  ; 
for  we  all  know  that  without  this  education  we  must  expect  to 
be  defrauded  of  our  homes,  our  earnings,  and  our  lands.  Many 
only  make  their  mark  in  signing  their  names,  for  they  cannot  read 
or  write. 

This  is  the  secret  of  their  not  having  any  thing  to-day,  and  the 
responsibility  rests  on  you,  Christian  people  of  these  United  States 
of  America  ;  and  the  cry  is  for  help  now.  There  is  not  a  nation 
under  heaven  that  needs  more  sympathy  and  pity  from  the  people 
of  the  United  States  than  my  people  ;  for  they  are  maltreated 
every  way  in  the  higher  educational  schools,  while  endeavoring  to 
obtain  an  education. 

During  the  most  eventful  period  in  our  history,  the  little  stream 
of  light  that  began  to  flow  in  Virginia  and  the  Mississippi  Valley 
has  from  year  to  year  widened  and  deepened,  and  rolled  with 
mighty  healing  power.  It  has  passed  the  dividing  mountains,  and 
carried  a  flood  of  Divine  blessings  to  many  of  my  people.  "  But 
blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they  see,  and  your  ears,  for  they  hear : 
for  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  many  prophets  and  righteous  men 
have  desired  to  see  these  things  which  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen 
them,  and  to  hear  these  things  which  ye  hear,  and  have  not  heard 
them."  We  still  have  hope  of  saving  our  beloved  people,  and  of 
seeing  prosperity  in  the  future.  Many  of  the  colored  people  de- 


PREFACE.  IX. 

serve  much  of  this  country  for  what  they  did  and  suffered  in  the 
great  national  struggle.  When  the  Rebels  appeared  in  their 
strength,  and  defeat  followed  defeat  in  quick  succession,  while  the 
government  was  bleeding  at  every  pore,  and  there  appeared  to  be 
no  help  or  power  to  save  the  Union,  then  our  colored  soldiers  came 
to  its  timely  aid  and  fought  like  brave  men.  The  rebel  lion  struck 
at  the  very  heart  of  our  country.  Many  of  them  were  ill-treated 
by  the  Union  soldiers — many  a  colored  soldier  was  knocked  down 
by  them,  and  maltreated  in  every  way.  The  treatment  the  colored 
soldiers  received  from  the  hands  of  the  white  soldiers  was  equal 
to  slavery.  All  this  was  because  the  white  soldiers  did  not  want 
to  stand  side  by  side  with  them — did  not  want  the  negro  in  the 
ranks.  Pen  can  not  begin  to  describe  the  extreme  sufferings  of  the 
colored  men  in  this  respect.  The  Yankee  soldiers  were  eager  for 
glory  ;  the  idea  of  having  a  colored  man  in  the  ranks  caused  many 
of  them  to  be  angry.  "  I  will  never  die  by  the  side  of  a  nigger," 
was  uttered  from  the  lips  of  many. 

I  hope  this  work  may  find  its  way  into  the  homes  and  hearts 
of  those  who  are  endeavoring  still  to  help  us  in  our  efforts  for 
liberty  ;  if  I  succeed  in  this,  it  is  all  I  desire.  That  I  may  have 
the  prayers  of  all  who  are  interested  in  my  behalf,  is  the  earnest 
desire  of  the  writer. 

In  purchasing  this  narrative  you  will  be  assisting  one  who  has 
been  held  in  the  chattels  of  slavery  :  who  is  now  broken  down  by 
the  infirmities  of  age,  and  asks  your  help  to  aid  him  in  this,  his 
means  of  support  in  his  declining  years. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH  AND  CHILDHOOD. 

PAGE. 

Birthplace — Parentage — Accident  from  disobedience — Sick- 
ness — Crippled  for  life — Death  of  master,  and  change  of 
situation — Cecilia — Jealousy,  and  attempt  to  take  the  life 
of  my  father  by  poisoning — Discovery  and  punishment — 
Removal  to  Northern  Neck— Mode  of  living  in  old  Vir 
ginia — Experiences  of  slave  life — A  cruel  mistress — Work 
on  plantation — Feigning  sickness — Death  of  father  and 
mother — Bound  out  to  a  trade — A  brutal  master,  -  -  f 

CHAPTER  II. 
YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD. 

Cook  on  board  a  ship — A  heartless  master — An  unsavory 
breakfast,  and  punishment — A  difficult  voyage — Tired  of 
life,  and  attempt  at  suicide — Escape — Life  on  plantation 
— A  successful  ruse — Removal  to  Heathsville,  -  -  -  16 

CHAPTER    III. 
LIFE    IN   HEATHSVILLE. 

Hired  out — Religious  experience,  conversion — Work  as  an 
exhorter — A  slave  prayer  meeting — Over  worked — A  ludi 
crous  accident — Love  of  dress — Love  of  freedom — Death 
of  my  master — Religious  exercises  forbidden — A  stealthy 
meeting — The  surprise — Fairfield  Church — Quarterly  meet 
ing — Nancy  Merrill — A  religious  meeting  and  a  deliver 
ance — Sleeping  at  my  post,  -  -  -  -  -  -  25 


Xll.  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

ESCAPE  FROM  SLAVERY. 

PAGE. 

Change  of  master — Plans  of  escape— Fortune*  telling— Zip 
— A  lucky  nap — Farewell — Beginning  of  the  escape — A 
prosperous  sail — Arrival  at  Frenchtown — Continuing  on 
foot — Exhausted — Deserted  by  companions — Hesitating — 
Terrible  fright— A  bold  resolve  and  a  hearty  breakfast — 
Re-union  at  New  Castle— Passage  to  Philadelphia — A  final 
farewell — Trouble  and  anxiety— A  friend — Passage  to  New 
York,  Hartford  and  Springfield — A  warm  welcome — Dr. 
Osgood,  .  .  36 

CHAPTER  V. 
LIFE  IN  FREEDOM. 

Employment  in  a  shoe  shop— Education  at  Wilbraham — 
Licensed  to  preach— John  M.  Brown — Mrs.  Cecelia  Platt 
— Elizabeth  Osgood — Sabbath  and  Mission  Schools — Re 
turn  to  Springfield — Engagement  with  Dr.  Hudson — Expe 
rience  at  Saybrook— Persecutions  of  Abolitionists — Lectur 
ing — Courtship  and  marriage,  ------  56 


CHAPTER  VI. 
LIFE  IN  NORWICH,  CONN. 

Came  to  Norwich — Started  business — Purchase  a  house — 
Persecutions  and  difficulties — Ministerial  labors — Church 
troubles — Formation  of  a  new  Methodist  Church — Retir 
ing  from  ministerial  work — Amos  B.  Herring — Mary  Hum 
phreys — Sketches  of  life  and  customs  in  Africa,  -  68 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  WAR  OF  THE    REBELLION. 

Desire  to  return  to  Virginia — Opening  of  the  War — Disdain 
of  the  aid  of  colored  men — Defeat — Progress  of  the  War 
— Employing  colored  men — Emancipation  Proclamation — 
Celebration — Patriotism  of  Colored  Soldiers — Bravery  at 
Port  Hudson — Close  of  the  War — Death  of  Lincoln — A 
tribute  to  Senator  Sumner — Passage  of  the  Civil  Rights 
Bill— Our  Standard  Bearers, -77 


CONTENTS.  Xlll. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

AFTER  THE  WAR. 

PAGE. 

Fear  of  capture— A  visit  to  Heathsville— Father  Christmas, 
and  a  children's  festival— Preaching  at  Washington— My 
first  visit  to  my  old  home— Joy  and  rejoicing— Meeting  my 
old  mistress— My  old  cabin  home— The  old  spring— Change 
of  situations— The  old  doctor— Improvement  in  the  con 
dition  of  the  colored  people— Buying  homes — Industry,  -  90 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  Celebration — The  parade — Ad 
dress—Collation—Charles  L.  Remond— Closing  words,  -  106 


CHAPTER  X. 

COLORED  MEN  DURING  THE  WAR. 

In  battle — Kindness  to  Union  men — Devotion  to  the  Union 
— 29th  Conn. — Its  departure — Return—  The  noble  Kansas 
troops — 54th  Mass. — Obedience  to  orders,  -  -  -  113 

CHAPTER  XI. 
RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  WAR. 

The  spirit  of  the  South— Delaware— Kentucky— Meetings — 
Conventions— Gen.  Wild's  raid— Slave  heroism— A  reminis 
cence  of  1863 — Sherman's  march  through  Georgia — Arming 
the  slave,  ---------  127 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  EXODUS. 

Arrival  of  negroes  in  Washington— Hospitality  of  Washing 
ton  people— Suffering  and  privation  — Education  of  the 
freedmen — Causes^  of  emigration — Cruelty  at  the  South — 
Prejudice  at  the  North — Hopes  for  the  future,  -  -  140 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

JAMES  L.  SMITH, 

"  I  MADE  A  DESPERATE  EFFORT,"  44 

MY  OLD  CABIN  HOME,  98 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OF 

JAMES  L.  SMITH 


CHAPTER  I. 


BIRTH  AND  CHILDHOOD. 

Birthplace— Parentage— Accident  from  disobedience— Sickness- 
Crippled  for  life— Death  of  master,  and  change  of  situation- 
Cecilia— Jealousy,  and  attempt  to  take  the  life  of  my  father 
by  poisoning — Discovery  and  punishment — Removal  to  Northern 
Neck— Mode  of  living  in  old  Virginia — Experiences  of  slave 
life — A  cruel  mistress— Work  on  plantation — Feigning  sickness 
Death  of  father  and  mother— Bound  out  to  a  trade — A  brutal 
master. 

|Y  birthplace  was  in  Northern  Neck,  Northum 
berland  County,  Virginia.  My  mother's  name 
was  Rachel,  and  my  father's  was  Charles. 
Our  cabin  home  was  just  across  the  creek.  This  creek 
formed  the  head  of  the  Wycomco  River.  Thomas 
Langsdon,  my  master,  lived  on  one  side  of  the  creek, 
and  my  mother's  family — which  was  very  large — on 
the  opposite  side.  Every  year  a  new  comer  was  added 
to  our  humble  cabin  home,  till  she  gave  birth  to  the 
eleventh  child.  My  mother  had  just  so  much  cotton 
to  spin  every  day  as  her  stint.  I  lived  here  till  I  was 
quite  a  lad. 


2  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

There  was  a  man  who  lived  near  us  whose  name  was 
Haney,  a  coach  maker  by  trade.  He  always  had  his 
timber  brought  up  to  the  creek.  One  day  he  ordered 
one  of  his  slave  women  to  go  down  and  bring  up  some 
of  the  timber.  She  took  with  her  a  small  lad,  about 
my  size,  to  assist  her.  She  came  along  by  our  cabin, 
as  it  was  near  the  place  where  the  timber  was,  and  asked 
me  to  go  along  with  her  to  help  her.  I  asked  mother  if 
I  could  go.  She  decidedly  said  "  No  !"  As  my  mother 
was  sick,  and  confined  to  her  bed  at  that  time,  I  took 
this  opportunity  to  steal  away,  unknown  to  her.  We 
endeavored,  at  first,  to  carry  a  large  piece  of  timber — 
the  woman  holding  one  end,  I  the  other,  and  the  boy 
in  the  middle.  Before  we  had  gone  far  her  foot  struck 
something  that  caused  her  to  fall,  so  that  it  jarred  my 
end,  causing  it  to  drop  on  my  knee.  The  boy  being  in 
the  middle,  the  full  weight  of  the  timber  fell  on  his 
foot,  crushing  and  mangling  it  in  a  most  shocking 
manner.  After  this  accident,  the  woman  and  boy 
started  for  home,  carrying  some  smaller  pieces  of  tim 
ber  with  them. 

After  a  few  days  of  painful  sickness,  mortification 
took  place  in  the  little  boy's  foot,  and  death  claimed 
him  for  his  own.  My  grandmother  hearing  my  voice 
of  distress  came  after  me  and  brought  me  home.  At 
the  time  she  did  not  think  I  was  hurt  very  seriously. 
My  mother  called  me  to  her  bedside  and  punished  me 
for  disobeying  her.  After  a  day  or  two  my  knee  began 
to  contract,  to  shrink.  This  caused  my  mother  to  feel 
that  there  was  something  very  serious  about  it,  and  as 
soon  as  she  was  able  to  get  around,  she  went  to  the 
*'  great  house,"  the  home  of  Thos.  Langsdon,  and  told 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD.  6 

him  that  I  was  badly  hurt,  and  that  something  must  be 
done  for  me.  He  asked  her  what  was  the  matter. 
She  told  him  what  had  happened  to  me,  and  how 
seriously  I  was  hurt  with  the  timber.  After  hearing 
this  sad  news,  he  said  he  had  niggers  enough  without 
me  ;  I  was  not  worth  much  any  how,  and  he  did  not 
care  if  I  did  die.  He  positively  declared  that  he 
should  not  employ  a  physician  for  me.  As  there  was 
no  medical  remedy  applied  to  my  knee,  it  grew  worse 
and  worse  until  I  could  not  touch  my  foot  to  the 
ground  without  the  most  intense  pain.  There  was  a 
doctor  in  the  neighborhood  at  this  time,  and  mother 
knowing  it  sent  me  to  see  him,  unknowingly  to  my  mas 
ter.  He  examined  my  knee  and  said,  as  it  had  been 
out  of  joint  so  long  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to 
break  it  over  again  and  then  set  it.  He  told  my 
mother  to  take  me  home  and  bathe  it  in  cold  spring 
water  to  prevent  it  from  ulcerating,  for  if  it  should  it 
would  kill  me. 

When  I  was  able  to  walk  around  wkh  my  lameness, 
Thomas  Langsdon  took  me  across  the  creek  to  his 
house  to  do  chores.  I  was  then  quite  a  boy.  After  a 
while  my  leg  commenced  swelling,  and  after  that  ulcer 
ating.  It  broke  in  seven  places.  I  was  flat  on  my  back 
for  seven  or  eight  weeks  before  I  could  raise  myself 
without  help.  I  suffered  every  thing  but  death  itself, 
and  would  have  died  if  it  had  not  been  for  Miss  Avers, 
who  was  house-keeper  in  the  "great  house."  She 
came  into  the  kitchen  every  day  to  dress  my  knee,  till 
I  could  get  around.  Not  having  any  shoes,  and  being 
exposed  to  the  weather,  I  took  a  heavy  cold  which 
caused  my  knee  to  ulcerate.  When  I  was  able  to  get 


4  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

around,  the  father  of  my  young  master  was  taken  sick, 
and  was  confined  to  his  bed  for  months.  I,  with 
another  boy  about  my  size  and  age— six  or  seven  years 
—  sat  by  his  bedside.  We  took  our  turns  alternately, 
the  boy  so  many  hours  and  I  so  many,  to  keep  the  flies 
off  from  him.  After  a  while  the  old  man  died,  then  I 
was  relieved  from  fighting  or  contending  with  flies. 

After  this  I  went  across  the  creek  to  help  my  mother, 
as  I  was  not  large  enough  to  be  of  any  service  on  the 
plantation.  In  the  course  of  time  my  young  master 
died,  also  his  wife,  leaving  two  sons,  Thomas  and  John 
Langsdon.  My  young  master  chose  for  us  (slaves)  a 
guardian,  who  hired  us  all  out.  As  my  mother  gave 
birth  to  so  many  children,  it  made  her  not  very  profit 
able  as  a  servant,  and  instead  of  being  let  out  to  the 
highest  bidder,  was  let  out  to  the  lowest  one  that  would 
support  her  for  the  least  money.  Hence  my  father, 
though  a  slave,  agreed  to  take  her  and  the  children, 
and  support  them  for  so  much  money 

My  father's  master  had  a  brother  by  the  name  of 
Thad.  Guttridge,  who  lived  in  Lancaster  County,  who 
died,  leaving  his  plantation  to  his  brother,  (my  father's 
master).  My  father  was  then  sent  to  take  charge  of 
this  new  plantation,  and  moved  my  mother  and  the 
children  with  him  into  the  "  great  house  ;"  my  mother 
as  mistress  of  the  house. 

This  Thad.  Guttridge  ha?d  a  woman  by  the  name  of 
Cecilia,  or  Cella,  as  she  was  called,  whom  he  kept  as 
house-keeper  and  mistress,  by  whom  he  had  one  child, 
a  beautiful  girl  almost  white.  After  this  new  arrange 
ment  was  made  for  my  father  to  take  charge  of  the 
new  plantation,  this  woman  Cella,  was  turned  out  of 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD.  5 

her  position  as  house-keeper  to  a  field  hand,  to  work 
on  the  plantation  in  exchange  with  my  mother. 

This  was  not  very  agreeable  to  Cella,  so  she  sought 
or  contrived  some  plan  to  avenge  herself.  So  one  Sat 
urday  night  Cella  went  off,  and  did  not  return  till 
Sunday  night.  When  she  did  return  she  brought  with 
her  some  whisky,  in  two  bottles.  She  asked  father  if 
he  would  like  to  take  a  dram  ;  and,  not  thinking  there 
would  be  any  trouble  resulting  from  it,  he  replied  : 
u  Yes."  Giving  him  the  bottle,  he  took  a  drink.  She 
then  gave  the  other  bottle  to  my  mother,  and  she  took 
a  drink.  Afterwards,  Cella  gave  us  children  some  out 
of  the  same  bottle  that  my  mother  drank  from. 
Father  went  to  bed  that  night,  complaining  of  not 
feeling  very  well.  The  next  morning  he  was  worse, 
and  continued  to  grow  worse  until  he  was  very  low. 
His  master  was  immediately  sent  for,  who  came  in 
great  haste.  On  his  arrival  he  found  father  very  low, 
not  able  to  speak  aloud.  My  master,  seeing  in  what  a 
critical  condition  he  was,  sent  for  a  white  doctor,  who 
came,  and  gave  father  some  medicine.  He  grew  worse 
every  time  he  took  the  medicine.  There  was  an  old 
colored  doctor  who  lived  some  ten  miles  off.  Some  one 
told  Bill  Guttridge  that  he  had  better  see  him,  and, 
perhaps  he  could  tell  what  was  the  matter  with  my 
father.  Bill  Guttridge  went  to  see  this  colored  doctor. 

The  doctor  looked  at  his  cards,  and  told  him  that 
his  Charles  was  poisoned,  and  even  told  him  who  did 
it,  and  her  motive  for  doing  it.  Her  intention  was  to 
get  father  and  mother  out  of  their  place,  so  that  she 
could  get  back  again.  Little  did  she  think  that  the 
course  she  took  would  prove  a  failure.  The  doctor  gave 


()  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

Guttridge  a  bottle  of  medicine,  and  told  him  to  return 
in  haste,  and  give  father  a  dose  of  it.  He  did  so.  I  saw 
him  coming  down  the  lane  towards  the  house,  at  full 
speed.  He  jumped  off  his  horse,  took  his  saddle-bags 
and  ran  into  the  house.  He  called  my  mother  to  give 
him  a  cup,  so  he  could  pour  out  some  of  the  medicine. 
He  then  raised  my  father  up,  and  gave  him  some  of  it 
out  of  the  cup.  After  he  had  laid  him  down,  and  re 
placed  the  covering  over  him  again,  he  took  his  hick 
ory  cane  and  went  out  into  the  kitchen — Cella  sat 
here  with  her  work — with  an  oath  told  her  :  "  You  have 
poisoned  my  Charles."  He  had  no  sooner  uttered 
these  words,  when  he  flew  at  her  with  his  cane.  As  he 
was  very  much  enraged,  he  commenced  beating  her 
over  the  head  and  shoulders  till  he  had  worn  the  cane 
out.  After  he  had  stopped  beating  her  in  this  brutal 
manner  her  head  was  swollen  or  puffed  to  such  si/e 
that  it  was  impossible  to  recognize  who  she  was  ;  she 
did  not  look  like  the  same  woman.  Not  being  satis 
fied  with  this  punishment,  he  told  her  that  he  intended 
repeating  it  in  the  morning.  In  the  morning,  when  he 
went  to  look  for  her,  she  was  gone.  He  stayed  with 
father  till  he  was  able  to  sit  up.  When  he  returned 
home — which  was  about  ten  miles — he  left  word  with 
father  that  if  Cella  came  home,  to  bind  her  and  send 
her  down  to  him. 

This  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  Some  months 
passed  before  we  saw  Cella  again.  The  following 
spring,  while  the  men  were  cleaning  up  the  new  land, 
Cella  came  to  them  ;  they  took  and  brought  her  to  the 
house.  Father  was  then  able  to  walk  about  the  house, 
but  was  unable  to  work  much.  He  had  her  tied,  and 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD.  I 

put  behind  a  man  on  horseback  and  carried  down  to 
his  master,  who  took  her  and  put  her  on  board  a  ves 
sel  to  be  sent  to  Norfolk.  He  sold  her  to  some  one 
there.  This  was  the  last  time  we  ever  saw,  or  heard 
from  her. 

We  lived  here  quite  a  number  of  years  on  Lancas 
ter  plantation.  Finally  my  father's  master  sold  it,  and 
also  his  brother's  daughter,  Cella's  child.  We  then 
returned  from  Lancaster  plantation  to  Northern  Neck, 
Va.,  and  lived  nearly  in  the  same  place,  called  Hog 
Point;  we  lived  here  quite  a  number  of  years.  Mr. 
Dick  Mitchell,  my  master's  guardian,  took  me  away 
from  my  mother  to  Lancaster  County,  on  his  planta 
tion,  where  I  lived  about  six  months.  I  used  to  do 
chores  about  the  house,  and  card  rolls  for  the  women. 
Being  lame  unfitted  me  for  a  field  hand,  so  I  had  to  do 
work  about  the  house,  to  help  the  women. 

Our  dress  was  made  of  tow  cloth  ;  for  the  children, 
nothing  was  furnished  them  but  a  shirt;  for  the  older 
ones,  a  pair  of  pantaloons  or  a  gown,  in  addition,  ac 
cording  to  the  sex.  Besides  these,  in  the  winter  sea 
son  an  overcoat,  or  a  round  jacket  ;  a  wool  hat  once 
in  two  or  three  years  for  the  men,  and  a  pair  of  coarse 
brogan  shoes  once  a  year.  We  dwelt  in  log  cabins,  and 
on  the  bare  ground.  Wooden  floors  were  an  unknown 
luxury  to  the,  slave.  There  were  neither  furniture  nor 
bedsteads  of  any  description  ;  our  beds  were  collec 
tions  of  straw  and  old  rags,  thrown  down  in  the  cor 
ners  ;  some  were  boxed  in  with  boards,  while  others 
were  old  ticks  filled  with  straw.  All  ideas  of  decency 
and  refinement  were,  of  course,  out  of  the  question. 

Our  mode  of  living  in  Virginia  was  not  unlike  all 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

other  slave  states.  At  night,  each  slept  rolled  up  in  a 
coarse  blanket ;  one  partition,  which  was  an  old  quilt 
or  blanket,  or  something  else  that  answered  the  pur 
pose,  was  extended  across  the  hut;  wood  partitions 
were  unknown  to  the  doomed  slave.  A  water  pail,  a 
boiling  pot,  and  a  few  gourds  made  up  the  furniture. 
When  the  corn  had  been  ground  in  a  hand-mill,  and 
then  boiled,  the  pot  was  swung  from  the  fire  and  the 
children  squatted  around  it,  with  oyster  shells  for 
spoons.  Sweet  potatoes,  oysters  and  crabs  varied  the 
diet.  Early  in  the  morning  the  mothers  went  off  to 
the  fields  in  companies,  while  some  women  too  old  to 
do  anything  but  wield  a  stick  were  left  in  charge  of  the 
strangely  silent  and  quiet  babies.  The  field  hands 
having  no  time  to  prepare  any  thing  for  their  morning 
meals,  took  up  hastily  a  piece  of  hoe-cake  and  bacon, 
or  any  thing  that  was  near  at  hand,  and  then,  with 
rakes  or  hoes  in  the  hand,  hurried  off  to  the  fields  at 
early  dawn,  for  the  loud  horn  called  them  to  their 
labors.  Heavy  were  their  hearts  as  they  daily  travers 
ed  the  long  cotton  rows.  The  overseer's  whip  took  no 
note  of  aching  hearts. 

The  allowance  for  the  slave  men  for  the  week  was  a 
peck-and-a-half  of  corn  meal,  and  two  pounds  of 
bacon.  The  women's  allowance  was  a  peck  of  meal, 
and  from  one  pound-and-a-half  to  two  pounds  of 
bacon  ;  and  so  much  for  each  child,  varying  from  one- 
half  to  a  peck  a  week,  and  of  bacon,  from  one-half  to 
a  pound  a  week.  In  order  to  make  our  allowance 
hold  out,  we  went  crabbing  or  fishing.  In  the  winter 
season  we  used  to  go  hunting  nights,  catching  oysters, 
coons  and  possums.  When  I  was  home,  the  slaves 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD.  9 

used  to  bake  their  hoe-cakes  on  hoes  ;  these  hoes  were 
larger  than  those  used  in  the  northern  states.  Another 
way  for  cooking  them  was  to  rake  the  ashes  and  then 
put  the  meal  cake  between  the  ashes  and  the  fire  —  this 
was  called  ash  pone ;  and  still  another  way  was  to 
bake  the  bare  cake  in  a  Dutch  oven,  heated  for  the 
purpose — that  was  called  oven  pone.  This  latter  way 
of  baking  them  was  much  practiced,  or  customary  at 
the  home  of  the  slave-holders. 

The  "  great  house,"  so  called  by  the  plantation 
hands,  was  the  home  where  the  master  and  his  family 
lived.  The  kitchen  was  an  apartment  by  itself  in  the 
yard,  a  little  distance  from  the  "great  house,"  so  as  to 
face  the  front  part  of  the  house  ;  others  were  built  in 
the  back  yard.  The  kitchens  had  one  bed-room  at 
tached  to  them. 

One  night  I  went  crabbing,  and  was  up  most  all 
night ;  a  boy  accompanied  me.  We  caught  a  large 
mess  of  crabs,  and  took  them  home  with  us.  The 
next  day  I  had  to  card  for  one  of  the  women  to  spin, 
and,  being  up  all  night,  I  could  hardly  keep  my  eyes 
open;  every  once  in  a  while  I  would  fall  asleep.  Mrs. 
Mitchell  could  look  through  her  window  into  the 
kitchen,  it  being  in  front  of  the  "  great  house."  She 
placed  herself  in  the  portico,  to  see  that  I  worked. 
When  I  fell  into  a  quiet  slumber  she  would  halloo  out 
and  threaten  to  cowhide  me  ;  but,  for  all  that,  I  could 
not  keep  awake.  Seeing  that  I  did  not  heed  her 
threatenings,  she  took  her  rawhide  and  sewing  and 
seated  herself  close  by  me,  saying  she  would  see  if  she 
could  keep  me  awake.  She  asked  me  what  was  the 
matter;  I  told  her  I  felt  sick.  (I  was  a  great  hand  to 


10  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

feign  sickness).  She  asked  me  what  kind  of  sickness; 
I  told  her  I  had  the  stomach  ache  and  could  not  work. 
Thinking  that  something  did  ail  me,  she  sent  Alfred, 
the  slave  boy,  into  the  house  after  her  medicine  chest ; 
she  also  told  him  to  bring  her  the  decanter  of  whisky. 
She  then  poured  out  a  tumbler  most  full  of  whisky 
and  then  made  me  drink  all  of  it.  After  drinking  it  I 
was  worse  than  I  was  before,  for  I  was  so  drunk  I  could 
not  see  what  I  was  doing.  Every  once  in  a  while 
when  I  fell  asleep  she  would  give  me  a  cut  with  the 
rawhide.  At  last,  night  came  and  I  was  relieved  from 
working  so  steady.  When  I  was  not  carding  I  was 
obliged  to  knit;  I  disliked  it  very  much  ;  I  was  very 
slow ;  it  used  to  take  me  two  or  three  weeks  to  knit 
one  stocking,  and  when  I  had  finished  it  you  could  not 
tell  what  the  color  was. 

I  had  also  to  drive  the  calves  for  the  milk-woman  to 
milk.  One  afternoon,  towards  night,  I  stopped  my 
other  work  to  hunt  up  the  calves  and  have  them  at  the 
cow-pen  by  the  time  the  milk-woman  came,  with  the 
cows;  I  went  in  one  of  the  quarters,  and  being  tired,  I 
sat  down  on  a  bench,  and  before  I  knew  it  I  fell  asleep 
and  slept  till  after  dark.  The  milk-woman  came  with 
the  cows,  but  there  were  no  calves  there.  She  hallooed 
for  me,  but  I  was  not  within  hearing.  As  the  cow-pen 
was  not  far  from  the  "  great  house  "  the  mistress  heard 
her.  At  last  the  milk-woman  came  to  the  "great 
house  "  to  see  what  had  become  of  me,  but  no  Lindsey 
could  be  found.  She  went  to  the  kitchen  where  the 
milk  pails  were  kept,  took  them,  and  then  drove  the 
calves  up  herself  and  went  to  milking.  Before  she  had 
finished,  I  awoke  and  started  for  the  kitchen  for  the 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD. 


11 


pails.  When  I  got  there,  Mrs.  Mitchell  was  standing 
up  in  the  middle  of  the  kitchen  floor.  She  asked  me 
where  I  had  been  ;  I  told  her  I  fell  asleep  in  the  quar- 
'ters'  and  forgot  myself.  She  said  she  would  learn  me 
how  to  attend  to  my  business,  so  she  told  Alfred  to  go 
into  the  "great  house  "  and  bring  her  the  rawhide.  I 
stood  there  trembling  about  mid-way  of  the  floor. 
Taking  the  cow-hide,  and  lifting  her  large  arms  as  high 
as  she  could,  applied  it  to  my  back.  The  sharp  twang 
of  the  rawhide,  as  it  struck  my  shoulders,  raised  me 
from  the  floor. 

Jinny  (the  cook)  told  rne  afterwards,  that  when  Mrs. 
Mitchell  struck  me  I  jumped  about  four  feet,  and  did 
not  touch  the  floor  again  till  I  was  out  doors.  She  fol 
lowed  me  to  the  door  and  just  had  time  to  see  me  turn 
the  corner  of  the  u  great  house."  I  then  ran  down 
towards  the  cow-pen.  The  cook  told  me  the  way  I 
was  running  as  I  turned  the  corner,  that  she  did  not 
believe  that  there  was  a  dog  or  horse  on  the  plantation 
that  could  have  caught  me.  I  went  to  the  cow-pen 
and  helped  the  woman  to  finish  milking,  and  stayed 
around  till  I  thought  that  Mrs.  Mitchell  had  gone  into 
the  "great  house."  But  to  my  astonishment  when  I 
went  to  the  kitchen  again,  behold,  there  she  was  still 
waiting  for  me.  She  asked  me  why  I  ran  from  her;  I 
told  her  that  it  hurt  me  so  bad  when  she  struck  mer 
that  I  did  not  know  that  I  was  running.  She  said  the 
next  time  she  whipped  me  that  she  would  have  me 
tied,  then  she  guessed  I  would  not  run.  She  let  me  off 
that  night  by  promising  her  that  I  would  do  better, 
and  never  run  from  her  again. 

Mrs.  Mitchell  was  a  very  cruel  woman  ;   I  have  seen 


'  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

her  whip  Jinny  in  a  very  brutal  manner.  There  was  a 
large  shade  tree  that  stood  in  the  yard  ;  she  would 
make  Jinny  come  out  under  this  tree,  and  strip  her 
shoulders  all  bare ;  then  she  would  apply  the  rawhide 
to  her  bare  back  until  she  had  exhausted  her  own 
strength,  and  was  obliged  to  call  some  of  the  house 
servants  to  bring  her  a  chair.  While  she  was  resting, 
she  would  keep  Jinny  still  standing.  After  resting  her 
weary  arms,  she  commenced  again.  Thus  she  whipped 
and  rested,  till  she  had  applied  fifty  blows  upon  her 
suffering  back.  There  was  not  a  spot  upon  her  naked 
back  to  lay  a  finger  but  there  would  be  a  gash,  gush 
ing  forth  the  blood  ;  every  cut  of  the  rawhide  forced 
an  extraordinary  groan  from  the  suffering  victim  ;  she 
then  sent  her  back  to  the  kitchen,  with  her  back  sore 
and  bleeding,  to  her  work.  We  slaves  often  talked  the 
matter  over  amongst  ourselves,  and  wondered  why  God 
suffered  such  a  cruel  woman  to  live.  One  night,  as  we 
were  talking  the  matter  over,  Jinny  exclaimed:  "  I)e 
Lord  bless  me,  chile,  I  do  not  believe  dat  dat  devil  will 
ever  die,  but  live  to  torment  us." 

After  a  while  I  left  there  for  Hog  Point,  to  live  with 
my  mother.  In  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  old  Mrs. 
Mitchell  sickened,  and  died. 

After  she  died,  1  went  down  to  see  the  folks  on  the 
plantation.  After  my  arrival,  they  told  me  that  just 
before  she  breathed  her  last,  she  sent  for  Jinny  to 
come  to  her  bedroom.  As  she  entered,  she  looked  up 
and  said:  "Jinny,  I  am  going  to  die,  and  I  suppose 
you  are  glad  of  it."  Jinny  replied  :  u  No,  I  am  not." 
After  pretending  to  cry,  she  came  back  to  the  kitchen 
and  exclaimed  :  "  Dat  old  devil  is  going  to  die,  and  I 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD. 

am  glad  of  it."  When  her  mistress  died  her  poor 
back  had  a  brief  respite  for  a  while.  I  do  not  know 
what  took  place  upon  the  plantation  after  this. 

As  my  young  master  became  of  age  about  this  time, 
Mr.  Mitchell  gave  the  guardianship  to  him.  During 
this  time  my  mother  died;  then  I  was  bound  out  to  his 
uncle,  John  Langsdon,  to  learn  the  shoe-maker's  trade. 
John  Langsdon  was  a  very  kind  man,  and  struck  me 
but  once  the  whole  time  I  was  with  him  in  Fairfield, 
and  then  it  was  my  own  fault.  One  day,  while  I  was 
at  work  in  the  shop,  1  put  my  work  down  and  went 
out  ;  while  I  was  out,  I  stepped  into  the  "  great  house." 
His  two  sons  were  in  the  house  shelling  corn  ;  some 
words  passed  between  his  eldest  son  and  me,  which 
resulted  in  a  fight.  Mr.  Langsdon  was  looking  out  of 
the  shop  window  and  saw  us  fighting;  so  he  caught  up 
a  stick  and  struck  me  three  or  four  times,  and  then 
drove  me  off  to  the  shop  to  my  work.  I  took  hold  of 
shoe-making  very  readily  ;  I  had  not  been  there  a  great 
while  when  I  could  make  a  shoe,  or  a  boot — this  I 
acquired  by  untiring  industry.  He  used  to  give  me 
my  stint,  a  pair  of  shoes  a  day.  I  remained  with  him 
four  years. 

The  first  cruel  act  of  my  master,  as  soon  as  he  be 
came  of  age,  and  took  his  slaves  home,  was  to  sell  one 
of  my  mother's  children,  whose  name  was  Cella,  who 
was  carried  off  by  a  trader.  We  never  saw  or  heard 
from  her  again.  Oh  !  how  it  rent  my  mother's  heart  ; 
although  her  heart  was  almost  broken  by  grief  and  de 
spair,  she  bore  this  shock  in  silent  but  bitter  agony. 
Her  countenance  exhibited  an  anxious  and  sorrowful 
expression,  and  her  manner  gave  evidence  of  a  deep 


14  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

settled  melancholy.  This,  and  other  troubles  which 
she  was  compelled  to  pass  through,  and  constant  toil 
and  exposure  so  shattered  her  physical  frame  that  dis 
ease  soon  preyed  upon  her,  that  hastened  her  to  the 
grave.  Ah  !  I  saw  not  the  death-angel,  as  with  white 
wings  he  approached.  When  the  hour  came  for  her 
departure  from  earth  there  was  but  a  slight  struggle, 
a  faint  gasp,  and  the  freed  spirit  went  to  its  final  home. 
Gone  where  there  are  neither  bonds  nor  tortures,  sor 
row  and  weeping  are  unknown. 

My  mother  was  buried  in  a  field  where  there  was  no 
other  dead  deposited ;  no  stone  marks  her  resting 
place;  no  fragrant  flowers  adorn  the  sod  that  covers 
her  silent  house. 

My  father  soon  followed  my  mother  to  the  grave  ; 
then  we  children  were  left  fatherless  and  motherless  in 
the  cold  world.  My  father's  death  was  very  much  felt 
as  a  good  servant,  being  quick  and  energetic,  rendered 
him  a  favorite  with  his  master.  When  my  father  was 
about  to  die,  he  called  his  children,  those  who  were  at 
home  around  him,  as  no  medicine  could  now  retard 
the  steady  approach  of  the  death-angel.  When  we 
assembled  about  him  he  bade  us  all  farewell,  saying, 
there  was  but  one  thing  that  troubled  him,  and  that 
was,  not  one  of  us  professed  religion.  When  I  heard 
that,  and  saw  his  sunken  eye  and  hollow  cheek,  my 
heart  sank  within  me.  Oh  !  how  those  words  did  cut 
me,  like  a  two-edged  sword.  From  that  day  I  com 
menced  to  seek  the  Lord  with  all  my  heart,  and  never 
stopped  till  I  found  Him.  After  my  father's  death,  my 
eldest  sister  took  charge  of  the  younger  children,  until 
her  master  took  her  home. 


BIRTH     AND    CHILDHOOD.  15 

One  cold  morning,  while  I  lived  at  Hog  Point,  we 
looked  out  and  saw  three  men  coming  towards  the 
house.  One  was  Mr.  Haney,  the  other  one  was  one  of 
his  neighbors,  and  the  last  one  was  his  slave.  Near 
our  cabin  home  was  a  large  oak  tree;  they  took  this 
doomed  slave  down  to  this  tree,  and  stripped  him  en 
tirely  naked;  then  they  threw  a  rope  across  a  limb 
and  tied  him  by  his  wrists,  and  drew  him  up  so  that 
his  feet  cleared  the  ground.  They  then  applied  the 
lash  to  his  bare  back  till  the  blood  streamed  and  red 
dened  the  ground  underneath  where  he  hung.  After 
whipping  him  to  their  satisfaction,  they  took  him 
down,  and  led  him  bound  through  our  yard.  I  looked 
at  him  as  he  passed,  and  saw  the  great  ridges  in  his 
back  as  the  blood  was  pouring  out  of  them,  and  it  was 
as  a  dagger  to  my  heart.  They  took  him  and  forced 
him  to  work,  with  his  back  sore  and  bleeding.  He 
came  to  our  cabin,  a  night  or  two  afterwards;  my 
mother  asked  him  what  Mr.  Haney  beat  him  for  ;  he 
said  it  was  for  nothing  only  because  he  did  not  work 
enough  for  him  ;  he  did  all  he  could,  but  the  unrea 
sonable  master  demanded  more.  I  never  saw  him  any 
more,  for  shortly  after  this  we  moved  away. 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER   II. 


YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD. 

Cook  on  board  a  ship — A  heartless  master — An  unsavory  break 
fast,  and  punishment — A  difficult  voyage — Tired  of  life,  and 
attempt  at  suicide — Escape  — Life  on  plantation — A  successful 
ruse — Removal  to  Heathsville. 

IHEN  I  lived  at  Mrs.  Mitchell's  there  was  a 
man  who  owned  a  vessel,  who  came  there 
and  took  our  grain.  He  told  Mr.  Mitchell 
he  would  like  to  take  me  and  make  a  sailor  of  me. 
He  liked  the  looks  of  my  countenance  very  much,  so 
they  struck  a  bargain.  The  captain  took  me  on  board 
his  vessel  and  made  a  cook  of  me.  I  stayed  with  him 
about  two  years,  and  most  of  the  time  he  treated  me 
very  cruelly.  He  used  to  strip  and  whip  me  with  the 
cat-o'-nine- tails.  [This  cat-o'-nine-tails  was  a  rope 
having  nine  long  ends  and  at  each  end  a  hard  knot.] 

One  day  as  we  lay  at  the  dock  in  Richmond,  Va., 
he  rose  very  early  one  morning,  and  told  me  that  he 
was  going  up  town,  advising  me  to  have  breakfast 
ready  by  the  time  he  arrived.  The  weather  was  very 
cold.  As  it  stormed  that  morning  very  hard,  I  asked 
him  if  I  could  cook  down  in  the  cabin.  His  reply 
was  "  No  ;"  and  that  I  must  cook  in  the  caboose. 


YOUTH    AND    EARLY    MANHOOD.  17 

[This  caboose  was  a  large  black  kettle  set  on  the  deck, 
all  open  to  the  weather,  to  make  fire  in,  and  supported 
by  bricks  to  prevent  it  burning  the  deck.]  Seeing  I 
had  to  be  reconciled  to  my  situation,  I  made  my  fire 
the  best  I  could.  The  rain  and  wind  extinguished  the 
fire,  so  that  I  could  not  fry  the  fish  ;  hence  I  could 
not  turn  them,  for  they  cleaved  to  the  frying  pan  ;  so 
I  thought  I  would  stir  them  .up  in  a  mess  and  make 
poached  fish  of  them  ;  I  then  poured  them  out  into  a 
dish,  and  placed  them  on  the  table. 

Very  soon  the  captain  came  aboard  drunk,  and 
asked  me  if  breakfast  was  ready  ;  I  told  him  :  "Yes." 
When  he  went  down  into  the  cabin  and  sat  at  the 
table,  I  crept  off  and  peeped  through  the  cabin  win 
dow,  to  see  what  effect  the  breakfast  would  have  upon 
him.  While  he  sat  there,  I  beheld  that  he  looked  at 
the  poached  fish  with  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction 
and  disgust.  He  called  me  "doctor,"  and  commanded 
me  to  come  down  into  the  cabin.  I  replied  promptly. 
When  I  got  there,  he  pointed  to  the  fish,  and  asked  me 
if  I  could  tell  which  parts  of  those  fish  belonged  to 
each  other;  I  told  him  I  could  not  tell.  As  the  cook 
ing  devolved  on  me  that  morning,  I  tried  to  justify  my 
self  by  telling  him  that  the  rain  and  wind  cooled  my 
pan  so  that  I  could  not  fry  the  fish,  and  that  I  had 
done  the  best  I  could. 

After  hearing  this,  he  told  me  to  strip  myself,  and 
then  go  and  stand  on  deck  till  he  had  eaten  his  break 
fast.  I  suffered  intensely  with  the  cold.  Some  of  the 
people  on  the  dock  laughed  at  me,  while  others  pitied 
me.  There  I  was,  divested  of  my  clothing!  He 
turned  his  fiery  eyes  on  me  when  he  came  on  deck  ; 

2 


18  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

and,  with  a  look  of  fierce  decision  on  his  face,  (for  now 
all  the  fierceness  of  his  nature  was  roused),  he  took  a 
rope's  end  and  applied  it  vigorously  to  my  naked  back 
until  he  deemed  that  I  had  atoned  for  my  offence. 
The  blows  fell  hard  and  fast,  raising  the  skin  at  every 
stroke  ;  by  the  time  he  was  through  whipping  me  I 
was  warm  enough.  I  then  went  down  into  the  cabin 
to  remove  the  breakfast  things.  I  did  not  eat  anything, 
for  I  had  lost  all  appetite  for  food.  In  the  course  of 
the  day  we  got  under  way,  and  started  for  home. 

We  then  proceeded  down  the  James  River,  and 
thence  to  a  place  called  Carter's  Creek.  Here  we  took 
in  a  haul  of  oysters,  and  then  started  for  Alexandria. 
The  wind  headed  us  off  for  several  days,  and  the 
weather  was  very  cold.  At  last  the  wind  favored  us, 
enabling  us  to  continue  our  voyage  till  we  arrived  at 
Chesapeake  Bay;  just  at  this  time  the  wind  came  in 
contact  with  our  vessel  and  headed  us  off  again.  It 
was  now  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  (mid-night)  when 
the  mate  in  the  cabin  was  far  under  the  influence  of 
liquor;  he  was  so  beastly  drunk  that  he  could  ^not  get 
out  to  give  any  assistance  whatever.  Hence  I  had  to 
manage  the  sails  the  best  I  could,  while  the  captain 
stood  at  the  helm.  We  strove  all  night  endeavoring  to 
get  up  the  bay.  About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
captain  told  me  to  bring  up  the  jug  of  whisky  to  him. 
Just  at  this  time  the  vessel  sprung  a  leak.  I  did  all  I 
could  to  stop  the  leakage  :  the  captain  told  me  to  go 
to  the  pump  and  do  the  best  I  could  till  morning. 
Both  of  us  tried  to  get  the  mate  out,  but  did  not  suc 
ceed.  We  then  turned  the  vessel  around  and  put  back, 
reaching  about  day  the  place  from,  whence  we  first 


YOUTH     AND    EARLY     MANHOOD.  19 

started.  By  this  time  the  mate  was  nearly  over  his 
drunken  spell  and  was  somewhat  more  sober,  seeing 
what  peril  we  were  in,  went  with  us  to  the  pump  to 
free  the  vessel.  On  account  of  the  cold  weather,  we 
lay  in  Carter's  Creek  several  days  ;  our  oysters  spoiled 
and  we  were  obliged  to  throw  them  overboard.  We 
then  took  in  a  freight  of  merchandise  and  started  for 
Fredericksburg ;  here  we  discharged  our  freight  and 
returned,  going  down  the  Rappahannock  we  stopped 
to  take  in  a  freight  of  corn  for  Fredericksburg.  One 
morning  the  captain  and  mate  went  ashore  after  a  load 
of  corn,  leaving  me  on  board  to  get  breakfast  and  to 
have  it  ready  by  the  time  they  returned.  I  had  it  ready 
as  he  requested.  When  they  had  nearly  finished  their 
meal  the  captain  asked  me  for  more  tea ;  I  told  him  it 
was  all  out;  he  wanted  to  know  why  I  did  not  make 
more  tea;  I  told  him  I  thought  there  was  a  plenty,  it 
was  as  much  as  I  generally  made.  He  challenged  me 
for  daring  to  think  ;  he  told  me  to  go  forward  and  di 
vest  myself  of  every  article  of  clothing,  and  wait  till  he 
came.  When  he  did  come  he  put  my  head  between 
his  legs,  and  while  I  was  in  this  position  I  thought  my 
last  days  had  come;  I  thought  while  he  was  using  the 
cat-o'-nine-tails  to  my  naked  back,  and  hearing  the 
whizzing  of  the  rope,  that  if  ever  I  got  away  I  would 
throw  myself  overboard  and  put  an  end  to  my  life. 
The  captain  had  punished  me  so  much  that  I  was  tired 
of  life,  for  it  became  a  burden  to  me. 

The  cat-o'-nine-tails  had  no  rest,  for  so  dearly  did 
he  love  its  music  that  a  day  seldom  passed  on  which 
he  could  find  no  occasion  for  its  use.  On  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  I  gave  a  sudden  spring,  and  struck 


20  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

the  water  some  distance  from  the  vessel,  and  as  I 
could  not  swim  I  began  to  sink.  I  found  that  unless 
I  was  helped  soon  I  would  drown.  I  began  to  repent 
of  what  I  had  done,  and  wished  that  I  had  not  com 
mitted  such  a  rash  act.  When  I  attempted  to  bring 
myself  up  to  the  surface  of  the  water  with  success,  I 
looked  towards  the  vessel  to  see  if  the  captain  was 
coming  to  help  me,  and  at  this  moment  of  my  peril,  in 
stead  of  rendering  any  assistance  he  sat  perfectly  at 
ease,  or  composed  on  the  deck  looking  at  me,  but  mak 
ing  no  effort  to  help  me.  I  said  to  myself,  I  wonder 
if  that  old  devil  intends  to  let  me  drown,  and  not  try 
to  save  me.  All  that  I  could  do  I  was  not  able  to  keep 
myself  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Before  I  was  out 
of  reach  and  began  to  sink  for  the  last  time,  I  felt  some 
thing  grasp  me  ;  I  found  that  it  was  the  captain,  who 
finally  consented  to  draw  me  up  to  the  surface  of  the 
water  and  throw  me  in  the  boat.  I  was  so  exhausted 
that  I  could  neither  stand  up  or  sit  down,  but  was 
obliged  to  lay  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  While  I  was 
lying  down  he  commenced  beating  me  with  the  cat-o'- 
nine-tails  very  unmercifully;  the  more  he  beat  me,  the 
more  the  water  poured  out  of  my  mouth.  The  mate 
told  me  afterwards  that  the  water  flowing  out  of  my 
mouth  reminded  him  of  a  whale  spouting  water. 

We  then  pursued  our  course  to  Fredericksburg ; 
when  reaching  there  we  discharged  our  merchandise — 
the  vessel  made  water  very  fast,  so  we  returned  to  Car 
ter's  Creek  to  undergo  repairs.  Here  it  lay  for  a  num 
ber  of  days,  for  the  ship-carpenters  were  not  ready  to 
take  care  of  her :  hence  I  had  to  stay  by  the  vessel 
while  the  captain  and  mate  went  home.  After  I  had 


YOUTH     AND    EARLY     MANHOOD.  21 

been  there  a  few  weeks,  I  sought  an  opportunity  to  run 
away.  I  saw  a  vessel  one  day  going  to  my  former 
home,  Mr.  Dick.  Mitchell's,  I  got  on  board  this  vessel 
for  home,  having  been  gone  for  two  years.  I  remained 
at  this  home  about  a  year  and  did  chores  about  the 
house  while  I  did  stay,  and  during  the  cotton  season  I 
had  just  so  much  cotton  to  pick  out  during  the  day, 

One  spring  Mr.  Mitchell  put  me  in  the  field  to  at 
tend  to  the  crows,  to  prevent  them  pulling  up  the  corn. 
This  was  three  or  four  years  before  Mrs.  Mitchell's 
death.  This  exercise  did  very  well  during  the  week 
days,  but  when  the  Sabbath  day  came  I  desired  a  res 
pite  from  this  monotonous  work.  The  Sabbath  day 
was  a  lonesome  day  to  me,  because  the  field  hands 
were  away  that  day ;  the  boys  would  be  away  frolick 
ing  at  some  place  they  had  chosen.  1  resolved  that  I 
would  break  up,  or  put  an  end  to  my  Sunday  employ- 
m,ent ;  so  I  studied  a  plan,  while  I  sat  down  in  the  field 
one  Sabbath,  how  I  should  accomplish  it.  First,  1 
thought  I  would  feign  sickness;  then  I  said  to  myself, 
that  will  not  do,  for  they  will  give  me  something  that 
will  physic  me  to  death.  My  next  contrivance  was 
that  I  would  pretend  that  I  had  the  stomach  ache  ; 
then,  I  said  again,  that  will  not  do  either,  for  then  my 
mistress  will  make  me  drunk  with  whisky,  as  she  had 
done  before  by  her  repeated  doses.  I  devised  another 
scheme,  I  thought  the  best  of  all,  and  that  was  to  pre 
tend  that  I  had  broken  my  leg  again.  As  this  plan 
was  satisfactory  to  my  mind,  I  arose  from  where  I  was 
sitting  and  resumed  my  work.  Monday  morning  I 
returned  to  the  field,  as  usual. 

All  at  once  I  intentionally  struck  my  foot  against  a 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

stone.  I  made  out  that  I  had  broken  my  leg  again. 
When  I  came  to  the  house,  Jinny,  the  cook,  saw  me  ; 
her  first  exclamation  was:  "Why,  chile,  what  is  de 
matter?"  In  reply,  I  only  gave  a  deep,  mournful 
sound,  and  made  a  dreadful  time  about  my  leg,  how 
it  pained  me,  and  so  on.  The  cook,  after  looking  pit 
ifully  at  me,  took  my  hand  and  helped  me  into  the 
kitchen  ;  while  there  I  gave  a  sad  account  about  my 
leg;  I  complained  of  feeling  faint,  and  desired  some 
thing  to  drink  that  I  might  feel  better.  She  took  a 
blanket  into  the  adjoining  room,  and  invited  me  to  lie 
down  on  the  floor.  [This  adjoining  room  was  a  little 
bedroom  attached  to  the  kitchen].  Every  effort  I 
made  towards  lying  down  I  would  groan  piteously,  and 
whimper  as  though  it  hurt  me  dreadfully.  While  I 
was  on  the  floor  Mr.  Mitchell  and. the  family  were  at 
breakfast  in  the  "great  house." 

Alfred,  the  servant  boy,  carried  the  news  to  the  fam 
ily  that  I  had  broken  my  leg.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Mitch 
ell  heard  of  this,  he  said,  with  an  oath,  that  he  would 
tend  to  it  when  he  had  eaten  his  breakfast.  It  was 
not  long  before  I  heard  his  speedy  steps,  as  he  was 
coming  towards  me  ;  just  this  moment,  I  said  to  my 
self;  this  day  it  is  either  victory  or  death. 

As  he  stepped  into  the  kitchen  he  called  out  to 
Jinny,  the  cook,  "Where  is  that  one-legged  son  of  a 

b ?"  She  replied  that  I  was  in  the  adjoining  room. 

very  badly  hurt.  He,  with  an  awful  oath,  said  that  he 
would  break  my  other  leg.  When  he  came  into  the 
bedroom  where  I  was  he  sang  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
and,  with  a  dreadful  oath,  commanding  me  to  rise,  or 
else  he  would  take  every  inch  of  skin  off  from  my 


YOUTH    AND    EARLY    MANHOOD.  23 

back.  I  told  him  that  I  was  so  much  hurt  that  I  could 
not  get  up.  My  complaints  only  vexed  him  the  more, 
so  much  so  that  he  told  Alfred  to  go  into  the  house 
and  bring  him  the  rawhide,  and  said  that  he  would 
raise  me. 

By  the  time  the  boy  had  returned,  I  was  up  on  one 
leg  choking  down  the  sobs  now  and  then.  Mr.  Mitch 
ell  told  me  to  take  some  corn  and  replant  those  hills  I 
had  allowed  the  crows  to  pull  up.  I  took  the  corn  and 
started  to  do  my  work,  groaning  and  crying  at  every 
step  ;  I  did  not  get  far  before  he  called  me  back  and 
asked  me  if  I  had  eaten  my  breakfast;  I  told  him  I  had 
not.  As  his  passions  had  subsided,  he  told  me  to  get 
my  breakfast  and  then  go  out  and  plant  the  corn.  I 
first  went  into  the  kitchen,  and  then  to  my  room  to  lie 
down  on  the  floor.  Jinny  came  to  me  and  asked  me 
if  I  would  have  something  to  eat;  I  told  her  I  was  in 
too  much  pain  to  eat.  (  Just  that  moment  I  was  so 
hungry  that  I  could  have  eaten  the  flesh  of  a  dead 
horse.)  After  Mrs.  Mitchell  had  removed  the  break 
fast  things  she  came  into  the  kitchen  to  see  how  I  was, 
and  found  me  groaning  at  a  great  rate,  as  if  in  great 
distress.  She  put  her  arm  under  my  head  to  raise  me, 
for  I  pretended  that  1  was  in  so  much  pain  that  I  could 
not  raise  myself. 

Mrs.  Mitchell  was  a  very  tyrannical  woman,  but  not 
withstanding  her  many  failings  she  occasionally  mani 
fested  a  little  kindness.  She  rolled  up  my  pantaloons 
and  commenced  bathing  my  knee  with  opodeldoc  (a 
saponaceous  camphorated  liniment)  that  she  used  for 
such  purposes  ;  after  which  she  bound  it  up  nicely  and 
then  laid  me  down  again.  Mr.  Mitchell  never  came 
after  me  any  more.  Mrs.  Mitchell  rebuked  her  hus- 


24  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

band  by  telling  him  that  he  had  no  business  to  send 
me  out  in  the  field  among  the  stumps  to  attend  to  the 
crows,  for  I  was  not  able  to  be  there. 

I  lay  on  the  floor  in  my  room  about  two  weeks.  In 
the  course  of  the  afternoon  Jinny  came  into  my  room 
and  asked  me  if  I  would  have  something  to  eat;  I  told 
her  I  would  try  and  eat  a  little  something,  (just  then  I 
was  hungry  enough  to  eat  a  peck).  When  she  return 
ed  with  some  bacon  and  corn-cake,  (meal  cake)  I  did 
not  dare  to  eat  much  for  fear  that  the  rest  of  the  family 
would  mistrust  that  I  was  not  sick.  At  the  end  of  two 
weeks  I  asked  one  of  the  field  hands  if  the  crows  had 
stopped  coming  to  trouble  the  corn,  his  reply  was, 
"yes,  it  was  so,  for  the  cherries  were  getting  ripe  and 
they  were  eating  them  instead."  After  hearing  this 
joyful  news  I  began  to  grow  better  very  fast.  The 
first  day  I  sat  up  nearly  all  day;  the  next  day  I  was 
able  to  go  out  some.  When  Saturday  came  I  could 
walk  quite  a  distance  to  see  my  mother,  who  lived  some 
ten  miles  off. 

Being  lame,  I  was  not  very  profitable  on  the  planta 
tion,  so  I  went  back  to  live  with  my  mother  till  she 
died.  At  this  time  my  eldest  sister  kept  house  for  my 
father  till  the  younger  children  were  old  enough  to  be 
hired  out.  My  young  master  had  become  of  age,  and 
had  his  slaves  divided  between  himself  and  his  brother, 
each  taking  his  half.  It  was  at  this  time  that  my 
young  master  took  me  and  put  me  in  charge,  or  in 
trusted  me  to  the  care  of  his  uncle,  in  Fairfield,  to  learn 
the  shoe-maker's  trade.  I  served  four  years,  during 
which  time  my  father  died.  After  I  had  learned  my 
trade,  my  master  took  me  home  and  opened  a  shop  in 
Heathsville,  Va.,  placing  me  in  it. 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSVILLE.  25 


CHAPTER    III. 


LIFE    IN   HEATHSVILLE. 

Hired  out — Religious  experience,  conversion — Work  as  an  ex- 
horter — A  slave  prayer  meeting — Over  worked — A  ludicrous 
accident — Love  of  dress — Love  of  freedom — Death  of  my 
master — Religious  exercises  forbidden — A  stealthy  meeting — 
The  surprise — Fail-field  Church— Quarterly  meeting— Nancy 
Merrill — A  religious  meeting  and  a  deliverance— Sleeping  at 
my  post. 

RAN  the  shop  for  one  year,  during  which 
time  my  young  master  became  jealous  of  me. 
He  thought  I  was  making  more  money  for 
myself  than  for  him;  it  was  not  so,  he  was  mistaken 
about  it.  What  little  I  did  earn  for  myself  was  justly 
my  own.  While  I  was  away  enjoying  myself  one 
Christmas  day,  he  took  an  ox-cart  with  my  brother,  for 
Heathsville.  The  driving  devolved  on  my  brother. 
My  master  carried  off  my  tools  and  every  thing  that 
was  in  the  shop  ;  he  hired  me  out  to  a  man  who  was 
considered  by  every  one  to  be  the  worst  one  in  Heaths 
ville,  whose  name  was  Mr.  Lacky,  advising  him  "  to 
keep  me  very  strict,  for  I  was  knowing  most  too  much." 
I  lived  with  him  three  years,  and  managed  so  as  to 
escape  the  cowhide  all  the  time  I  was  there,  saving 
once.  I  strove  by  my  prudence  and  correctness  of  de- 


26  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

meanor  to  avoid  exciting  his  evil  passions.  While 
learning  the  shoe-maker's  trade,  I  was  about  eighteen 
years  old.  At  this  time  I  became  deeply  interested  in 
my  soul's  salvation  ;  the  white  people  held  a  prayer 
meeting  in  Fairfield  one  evening  in  a  private  house;  I 
attended  the  meeting  that  evening,  but  was  not  permit 
ted  to  go  in  the  same  room,  but  only  allowed  to  go  in 
an  adjoining  room.  While  there  I  found  peace  in  be 
lieving,  and  in  this  happy  state  of  mind  I  went  home 
rejoicing  and  praising  the  Lord  for  what  he  had  done 
for  me.  A  few  Sabbath's  following,  I  united  with  the 
Church  in  Fairfield.  Soon  after  I  was  converted  I 
commenced  holding  meetings  among  the  people,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  my  fame  began  to  spread  as  an  ex- 
horter.  I  was  very  zealous,  so  much  so  that  I  used  to 
hold  meetings  all  night,  especially  if  there  were  any 
concerned  about  their  immortal  soul. 

I  remember  in  one  instance  that  having  quit  work 
about  sundown  on  a  Saturday  evening,  I  prepared  to 
go  ten  miles  to  hold  a  prayer  meeting  at  Sister  Gould's. 
Quite  a  number  assembled  in  the  little  cabin,  and  we 
continued  to  sing  and  pray  till  daybreak,  when  it 
broke.  All  went  to  their  homes,  and  I  got  about  an 
hour's  rest  while  Sister  Gould  was  preparing  breakfast. 
Having  partaken  of  the  meal,  she,  her  daughter  and 
myself  set  out  to  hold  another  meeting  two  miles  fur 
ther;  this  lasted  till  about  five  o'clock,  when  we  re 
turned.  Then  I  had  to  walk  back  ten  miles  to  my 
home,  making  in  all  twenty-four  miles  that  day.  How 
I  ever  did  it,  lame  as  I  was,  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  was  so 
zealous  in  the  work  that  I  did  not  mind  going  any 
distance  to  attend  a  prayer  meeting.  I  actually  walk- 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSV1LLE.  27 

ed  a  greater  part  of  the  distance  fast  asleep;  I  knew 
the  road  pretty  well.  There  used  to  be  a  great  many 
run-aways  in  that  section,  and  they  would  hide  away 
in  the  woods  and  swamps,  and  if  they  found  a  person 
alone  as  I  was,  they  would  spring  out  at  them  and  rob 
them.  As  this  thought  came  into  my  head  during  my 
lonely  walk,  thinks  I,  it  won't  do  for  me  to  go  to  sleep,, 
and  I  began  to  look  about  me  for  some  weapon  of  de 
fence ;  I  took  myjackknife  from  my  pocket  and  open 
ed  it ;  now  I  am  ready  to  stab  the  first  one  that  tackles 
me,  I  said ;  but  try  as  I  would,  I  commenced  to  nodr 
nod,  till  I  was  fast  asleep  again.  The  long  walk  and 
the  exertion  of  carrying  on  the  meeting  had  nearly 
used  me  up. 

The  way  in  which  we  worshiped  is  almost  inde 
scribable.  The  singing  was  accompanied  by  a  certain 
ecstasy  of  motion,  clapping  of  hands,  tossing  of  heads,, 
which  would  continue  without  cessation  about  half  an 
hour;  one  would  lead  off  in  a  kind  of  recitative  style, 
others  joining  in  the  chorus.  The  old  house  partook 
of  the  ecstasy  ;  it  rang  with  their  jubilant  shouts,  and 
shook  in  all  its  joints.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  I  fell  asleep,  for  when  I  awoke  I  found  I  had  lost 
my  knife,  and  the  fact  that  I  would  now  have  to  de 
pend  on  my  own  muscle,  kept  me  awake  till  I  had 
reached  the  neighborhood  of  my  home.  There  was  a 
lane  about  half  a  mile  from  the  house,  on  each  side  of 
which  was  a  ditch  to  drain  the  road,  and  was  nearly 
half  full  of  water;  as  I  neared  this  lane  I  fell  asleep- 
again,  as  the  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  in  the  ditch  ;  I 
had  walked  right  off'  into  it,  best  clothes  and  all.  Such 
a  paddling  to  get  out  you  never  saw.  I  was  wide 


28  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

awake  enough  now  you  may  rest  assured,  and  went 
into  the  house  sick  enough  ;  my  feet  were  all  swollen, 
and  I  was  laid  up  for  two  or  three  days.  My  mistress 
came  in  to  see  me,  and  said  I  must  have  medicine.  I 
had  to  bear  it,  and  she  dosed  me  well. 

As  soon  as  I  was  able,  I  went  to  work.  I  had  a  shop 
all  to  myself.  My  master  lived  five  miles  away,  but 
would  come  once  a  week  and  take  all  the  earnings  ; 
some  weeks  I  would  make  a  great  deal,  then  I  would 
keep  some  back  for  myself,  as  I  had  worked  for  it. 
In  this  way  I  saved  at  one  time  fifteen  dollars  ;  I  went 
to  the  store,  bought  a  piece  of  cloth,  carried  it  to  the 
tailor  and  had  a  suit  made — I  had  already  bought  a 
watch,  and  had  a  chain  and  seal.  You  can  imagine 
how  I  looked  the  following  Sunday  ;  I  was  very  proud 
and  loved  to  dress  well,  and  all  the  young  people  used 
1o  make  a  great  time  over  me;  it  was  Brother  Payne 
here,  and  Brother  Payne  there  ;  in  fact,  I  was  nearly 
everywhere. 

The  other  slaves  were  obliged  to  be  on  the  planta 
tion  when  the  horn  blew,  at  daybreak,  but  sometimes 
I  did  not  get  home  till  twelve  o'clock  ;  sometimes  it 
would  be  night,  and  I  always  escaped  a  whipping. 
The  first  Sunday  that  I  was  arrayed  in  my  new  suit, 
I  was  passing  the  court  house  bounds,  when  I  saw 
my  master  and  a  man  named  Betts  standing  near  by- 
Betts  caught  sight  of  me  ;  says  he  :  "  Lindsey,  come 
here."  Not  knowing  what  he  wanted,  I  went  to  him  ; 
whereupon  he  commenced  looking  first  at  me,  then  at 
my  master  ;  then  at  my  master,  then  at  me  ;  finally  he 
said  :  "  Who  is  master  ;  Lindsey  or  you,  for  he  dresses- 
better  than  you  do  ?  Does  he  own  you,  or  do  you 
own  him  ?" 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSVILLE.  29 

From  a  child  I  had  always  felt  that  I  wanted  to  be 
free.  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  belonging  to 
any  one,  and  so  when  I  ran  away,  my  mind  was  made 
up  all  in  a  sudden.  My  master  came  as  far  as  Phila 
delphia  to  look  for  me  ;  and,  my  brother  says,  when  he 
came  back  without  me,  he  became  a  very  demon  on 
the  plantation,  cutting  and  slashing,  cursing  and  swear 
ing  at  the  slaves  till  there  was  no  living  with  him.  He 
seemed  to  be  out  of  his  head  ;  and  for  hours  would  set 
looking  straight  into  the  fire  ;  when  spoken  to,  he 
would  say :  "  I  can't  think  what  made  Lindsey  leave 
me." 

One  day  he  ordered  my  brother  and  a  man  named 
Daniel  to  move  the  barn  from  where  it  set  further  out 
to  one  side.  So  my  brother  went  to  work,  with  two 
or  three  others,  and  had  raised  it  about  three  or  four 
feet,  when  something  gave  way  ;  and,  as  they  were 
under  the  barn,  they  all  ran  out.  My  master  seeing 
this  became  furious.  u  How  dare  you  to  run  ?  You 
shall  stay  under  there,  if  you  get  crushed  to  pieces  !" 
So  saying,  he  went  into  the  house  and  got  the  rawhide. 
"  Now,"  says  he,  "  the  first  one  who  runs,  I  '11  cut  to 
pieces."  He  then  took  his  place  inside  the  barn,  and 
commanded  them  to  go  on  with  their  work,  while  he 
looked  on. 

They  began  to  turn  the  screw,  when  some  timber 
from  above  fell  right  across  the  door,  completely  block 
ading  it.  Master  was  shut  up  in  the  barn,  and  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  get  out.  Why  he  did  not  jump 
out,  when  the  creaking  sound  gave  him  warning,  no  one 
can  tell ;  he  seemed  to  sit  back  there,  in  a  dazed  sort 
of  a  wav.  There  was  a  rush  to  rescue  him,  and  he 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

was  found  all  mangled  and  bruised,  with  the  rawhide 
grasped  tightly  in  his  hand.  My  brother  says  he  only 
gasped  once  or  twice  after  he  was  brought  out. 

When  Nat.  Turner's  insurrection  broke  out,  the  col 
ored  people  were  forbidden  to  hold  meetings  among 
themselves.  Nat.  Turner  was  one  of  the  slaves  who 
had  quite  a  large  army  ;  he  was  the  captain  to  free  his 
race.  Notwithstanding  our  difficulties,  we  used  to 
steal  away  to  some  of  the  quarters  to  have  our  meet 
ings.  One  Sabbath  I  went  on  a  plantation  about  five 
miles  off,  where  a  slave  woman  had  lost  a  child  the  day 
before,  and  as  it  was  to  be  buried  that  day,  we  went  to 
the  "  great  house  "  to  get  permission  from  the  master 
if  we  could  have  the  funeral  then.  He  sent  back  word 
for  us  to  bury  the  child  without  any  funeral  services. 
The  child  was  deposited  in  the  ground,  and  that  night 
we  went  off  nearly  a  mile  to  a  lonely  cabin  on  Griffin 
Furshee's  plantation,  where  we  assembled  about  fifty 
or  seventy  of  us  in  number;  we  were  so  happy  that  we 
had  to  give  vent  to  the  feelings  of  our  hearts,  and  were 
making  more  noise  than  we  realized.  The  master, 
whose  name  was  Griffin  Furshee,  had  gone  to  bed,  and 
being  awakened  by  the  noise,  took  his  cane  and  his 
servant  boy  and  came  where  the  sound  directed  him. 
While  I  was  exhorting,  all  at  once  the  door  opened 
and  behold  there  he  stood,  with  his  white  face  looking 
in  upon  us.  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  face  I  stopped  sud 
denly,  without  even  waiting  to  say  amen. 

The  people  were  very  much  frightened  ;  with  throb 
bing  hearts  some  of  them  went  up  the  log  chimney, 
others  broke  out  through  the  back  door,  while  a  few, 
who  were  more  self-composed,  stood  their  ground. 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSVILLE.  31 

When  the  master  came  in,  he  wanted  to  know  what 
we  were  doing  there,  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  that  it 
was  against  the  law  for  niggers  to  hold  meetings.  I 
expected  every  moment  that  he  would  fly  at  me  with 
his  cane;  he  did  not,  but  only  threatened  to  report  me 
to  my  master.  He  soon  left  us  to  ourselves,  and  this 
was  the  last  time  he  disturbed  us  in  our  meetings.  His 
object  in  interrupting  us  was  to  find  out  whether  we 
were  plotting  some  scheme  to  raise  an  insurrection 
among  the  people.  Before  this,  the  white  people  held 
a  quarterly  meeting  in  the  Fairfield  Church,  commenc 
ing  Saturday,  and  continuing  eight  days  and  nights 
without  cessation. 

The  religious  excitement  that  existed  at  that  time 
was  so  great  that  the  people  did  not  leave  the  church 
for  their  meals,  but  had  them  brought  to  them.  There 
were  many  souls  converted.  The  colored  people  at 
tended  every  night.  The  white  people  occupied  the 
part  next  to  the  altar,  while  the  colored  people  took 
the  part  assigned  them  next  to  the  door,  where  they 
held  a  protracted  meeting  among  themselves.  Some 
times,  while  we  were  praying,  the  white  people  would  be 
singing,  and  when  we  were  singing  they  would  be  pray 
ing;  each  gave  full  vent  to  their  feelings,  yet  there  was 
no  discord  or  interruption  with  the  two  services.  On 
Wednesday  night,  the  fourth  day  from  the  commence 
ment  of  the  meeting,  a  colored  woman  by  the  name  of 
Nancy  Merrill,  was  converted,  and  when  she  experienc 
ed  a  change  of  heart  she  shouted  aloud,  rejoicing  in 
the  richness  of  her  new  found  hope.  Thursday  night, 
the  next  evening,  the  meeting  still  continued. 

By    this   time   the  excitement  was  on   the   increase 


32  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

among  both  parties,  and  it  bid  fair  to  hold  eight  days 
longer;  but  right  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  some 
one  came  to  the  door  of  the  church  and  nodded  to  the 
sexton  to  come  to  the  door  ;  as  soon  as  he  did  go  to 
the  door  some  one  there  told  him  to  speak  to  Nancy 
Merrill,  the  new  convert,  and  tell  her  to  come  to  the 
door,  for  he  wanted  to  speak  to  her.  She  went,  and, 
behold  it  was  a  slave  trader,  who  had  bought  her  dur 
ing  the  day  from  her  mistress  !  As  soon  as  she  went 
to  the  door,  he  seized  and  bound  her,  and  then  took 
her  off  to  her  cabin  home  to  get  her  two  boys  he  had 
bought  also.  The  sexton  came  back  and  reported  to 
us  what  had  taken  place. 

This  thrilling  and  shocking  news  sent  a  sharp  shiver 
through  every  heart  ;  it  went  through  the  church  like 
wild-fire  ;  it  broke  up  the  meeting  entirely  among  both 
parties:  in  less  than  half  an  hour  every  one  left  the 
church  for  home.  This  woman  had  a  daughter  in 
Fairfield,  where  I  learned  my  trade,  and  I  hastened 
home,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  tell  the  girl  what  had 
happened  to  her  mother.  She  was  standing  by  the  fire 
in  the  kitchen  as  I  entered — she  was  the  servant  girl  of 
John  Langsdon,  the  man  who  taught  me  the  shoe 
maker's  trade.  As  soon  as  I  related  to  her  this  sad 
news  she  fell  to  the  floor  as  though  she  had  been  shot 
by  a  pistol ;  and,  as  soon  as  she  had  recovered  a  little 
from  the  shock  we  started  for  her  mother's  cabin  home, 
reaching'there  just  in  time  to  see  her  mother  and  her 
two  brothers  take  the  vessel  for  Norfolk,  to  be  sold. 
This  was  the  last  time  we  ever  saw  her  ;  we  heard, 
sometime  afterwards,  that  a  kind  master  had  bought 
her,  and  that  she  was  doing  well. 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSVILLE.  33 

Many  thrilling  scenes  I  could  relate,  if  necessary, 
that  makes  my  blood  curdle  in  my  veins  while  I  write. 
We  were  treated  like  cattle,  subject  to  the  slave-hold 
ers'  brutal  treatment  and  law. 

The  wretched  condition  of  the  male  slave  is  bad 
enough  ;  but  that  of  the  woman,  driven  to  unremitting, 
unrequited  toil,  suffering,  sick,  and  bearing  the  pecu 
liar  burdens  of  her  own  sex,  unpitied,  not  assisted,  as 
well  as  the  toils  which  belong  to  another,  must  arouse 
the  spirit  of  sympathy  in  every  heart  not  dead  to  all 
feeling.  Oh  !  how  many  heart-rending  prayers  I  have 
heard  ascend  up  to  the  throne  of  grace  for  deliverance 
from  such  exhibitions  of  barbarity.  How  many  family 
ties  have  been  broken  by  the  cruel  hand  of  slavery. 
The  priceless  store  of  pleasures,  and  the  associations 
connected  with  home  were  unknown  to  the  doomed 
slaves,  for  in  an  unlocked  for  hour  they  were  sold  to 
be  separated  from  father  and  mother,  brothers  and 
sisters.  Oh  !  how  many  such  partings  have  rent  many 
a  heart,  causing  it  to  bleed  as  it  were,  and  crushing 
out  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  slavery  abolished. 

Sometime  before  I  left  for  the  north,  the  land  of 
freedom,  I  appointed  another  meeting  in  an  off  house 
on  a  plantation  not  far  from  Heathsville,  where  a  num 
ber  of  us  collected  together  to  sing  and  pray.  After  I 
had  given  out  the  hymn,  and  prayed,  I  commenced  to 
exhort  the  people.  While  I  did  so  I  became  very 
warm  and  zealous  in  the  work,  and  perhaps  made  more 
noise  than  \ve  were  aware  of.  The  patrolers  *  going 
along  the  road,  about  half  a  mile  off,  heard  the  sound 


*  The  patrolers  were  southern  spies,  sent  out,  or  were  wont  to  roam  at  night 
to  hunt  up  run-away  slaves,  and  to  investigate  other  matters. 


34  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

and  followed  it  where  we  were  holding  our  meeting. 
They  came,  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  surrounded  the 
house.  The  captain  of  the  company  came  in,  and  as 
soon  as  we  saw  him  we  fell  on  our  knees  and  prayed 
that  God  might  deliver  us.  While  we  prayed  he  stood 
there  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  without  saying  a  word. 
Pretty  soon  we  saw  that  his  knees  began  to  tremble, 
for  it  was  too  hot  for  him,  so  he  turned  and  went  out. 
His  comrades  asked  him  if  "  he  was  going  to  make  an 
arrest;"  he  said  "no,  it  was  too  hot  there  for  him." 
They  soon  left,  and  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  them. 

As  God  had  delivered  us  in  such  a  powerful  manner, 
we  took  courage  and  held  our  meeting  until  day-break. 
Another  time  I  had  a  meeting  appointed  at  a  freed- 
woman's  house,  whose  name  was  Sister  Gouldman, 
about  five  miles  in  the  country.  I  left  home  about 
seven  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening,  and  arrived  there 
about  ten  ;  we  immediately  commenced  the  meeting 
and  continued  it  till  about  daylight.  After  closing  the 
meeting  we  slept  while  Sister  Gouldman  was  preparing 
the  breakfast.  After  breakfast  we  went  two  miles  fur 
ther,  and  held  another  meeting  till  late  in  the  afternoon, 
then  closed  and  started  for  home,  reaching  there  some 
time  during  the  night.  I  was  very  much  fatigued,  and 
my  energies  were  entirely  exhausted,  so  much  so  that 
I  was  not  able  to  work  the  next  day. 

The  time  when  I  was  eighteen  years  old,  when  such 
a  miraculous  change  had  been  wrought  in  my  heart,  1 
had  had  two  holidays,  and  was  up  all  night  holding 
meetings,  praying  and  singing  most  of  the  time.  Not 
having  any  sleep,  I  could  scarcely  keep  my  eyes  open 
when  I  went  to  work.  While  endeavoring  to  finish  a 


LIFE    IN    HEATHSVILLE.  35 

piece  of  work,  Mr.  Lacky  came  and  found  me  asleep 
while  I  was  on  my  bench  shoe-making.  He  told  me 
that  I  had  "  been  away  enjoying  myself  for  two  days, 
and  if  he  should  come  again  and  find  me  asleep,  he 
would  wake  me  up."  Sure  enough,  he  had  no  sooner 
left  the  shop  when  I  was  fast  asleep  again.  As  his 
shop  was  beneath  mine,  he  could  easily  hear  me  when 
I  was  at  work.  He  came  up  again  in  his  stocking-feet, 
unawares,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew  he  had  the  raw 
hide,  applying  it  vigorously  to  my  flesh  in  such  a  man 
ner  that  did  not  feel  very  pleasant  to  me.  After  pun 
ishing  me,  he  asked  me  "  if  I  thought  I  could  kee'p 
awake  after  this."  I  told  him  "I  thought  possibly  I 
could,"  and  did,  through  a  great  deal  of  ^effort  till 
night.  I  never  was  satisfied  about  that  whipping. 


36  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


ESCAPE  FROM  SLAVERY. 

Change  of  master — Plans  of  escape — Fortune  telling — Zip — A 
lucky  nan — Farewell — Beginning  of  the  escape — A  prosperous 
sail — Arrival  at  Frenchtown — Continuing  on  foot — Exhausted 
— Deserted  by  companions — Hesitating — Terrible  fright — A 
bold  resolve  and  a  hearty  breakfast — Re-union  at  New  Castle — 
Passage  to  Philadelphia — A  final  farewell — Trouble  and  anx 
iety — A  friend — Passage  to  New  York,  Hartford  and  Spring 
field — A  warm  welcome — Dr.  Osgood. 

EAR  the  end  of  the  third  year  I  went  to  my 
young  master  and  told  him  I  did  not  care 
about  living  with  Mr.  Lacky  any  longer. 
He  told  me  that  I  could  choose  for  myself  another 
man  whom  I  could  live  with.  I  concluded  to  live  with 
one  by  the  name  of  Bailey,  who  did  not  strike  me  dur 
ing  the  year,  but  threatened  to,  which  made  me  mad. 
About  the  end  of  this  time  I  thought  very  strongly  in 
reference  to  freedom,  liberty  ;  the  precious  goal  which 
I  almost  grasped.  I  pursued  daily  my  humble  duties, 
waiting  with  patience  till  I  could  perceive  some  open 
ing  in  the  dense  dark  cloud  that  enveloped  my  fate  in 
the  hidden  future.  Before  I  lived  with  Bailey,  I  had 
some  thoughts  of  this.  I  became  acquainted  with  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Zip,  who  was  a  sailor;  I  told  him  my 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  37 

object  in  reference  to  freedom.  He  told  me  that  he 
also  was  intending  to  make  his  escape  and  to  have  his 
freedom.  This  was  in  the  year  1836.  We  agreed 
that  whenever  there  was  a  chance  we  would  come  off 
together.  About  Christmas,  1837,  we  made  an  arrange 
ment  to  run  away.  Zip  was  calculating  to  take  the 
vessel  that  the  white  people  had  left  during  their  ab 
sence.  He  was  left  to  take  care  of  this  vessel  till  they 
returned;  nevertheless  he  intended  to  use  it  to  a  good 
purpose,  for  he  took  this  opportunity  to  make  his  es 
cape.  We  intended  to  carry  off  seventy,  but  we  were 
disappointed  because  we  could  not  carry  out  our  ar 
rangements.  It  was  a  very  cold  Christmas  Eve,  so 
much  so  that  the  river  was  badly  frozen,  not  making  it 
favorable  for  us  to  capture  her :  hence  we  gave  that 
project  up  until  the  spring  of  1838. 

On  the  6th  day  of  May,  1838,  Zip,  with  another 
one  by  the  name  of  Lorenzo  and  myself,  each  hired 
a  horse  to  take  a  short  journey  up  the  country  to 
Lancaster,  to  see  a  sick  friend  of  ours,  who  was 
very  ill,  for  we  did  not  expect  to  see  him  again. 
His  name  was  Lewis  Vollin.  We  had  calculated 
to  make  our  escape  in  about  two  weeks;  so  we  start 
ed  one  Sabbath  morning  and  found  our  friend  quite 
sick,  and  was  only  able  to  sit  up  a  little  while  and 
talk  with  us.  Lewis'  doctor  was  an  aged  colored 
man,  who  was  a  fortune-teller  also,  and  could  unfold 
the  past,  present,  and  future  destiny  of.  any  one. 
Our  sick  friend  was  at  this  doctor's  home,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  being  cured  by  him.  While  there,  the  doctor 
asked  us  to  walk  out  and  look  at  his  place ;  we  did  so, 
and  after  a  while  we  sat  down  under  a  large  tree.  The 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

doctor  then  asked  us  if  we  would  like  to  have  our  for 
tune's  told  ;  we  told  him  "  yes."  He  sent  to  the  house 
for  his  cards,  and  after  receiving  them,  told  each  of  us 
to  cut  them  ;  we  did  so,  then  he  took  my  cut  and  look 
ed  it  over,  saying,  "you  are  going  to  run  away;  I  see 
that  you  will  have  good  luck;  you  will  go  clear:  you 
will  reach  the  free  country  in  safety ;  you  will  gather 
many  friends  around  you,  both  white  and  colored  ; 
you  will  be  worth  property,  and  in  the  course  of  time 
will  return  back  home,  and  walk  over  your  native  land." 
I  asked  him  "  how  that  could  be;  was  I  to  be  captured 
and  brought  back?"  He  said  "  no,  you  will  comeback 
because  you  wish  to,  and  go  away  again."  I  told  him 
"that  was  something  that  I  did  not  understand."  He 
said,  "nevertheless,  it  is  so." 

He  then  told  the  fortunes  of  my  two  companions, 
Zip  and  Lorenzo.  He  examined  their  cuts,  and  said 
they  would  all  go  clear ;  but  never  said  they  would  re 
turn,  neither  did  they,  for  they  died  before  freedom 
was  proclaimed.  Zip  died  at  the  West  Indies,  Lorenzo 
died  on  the  ship  in  some  port  at  the  time  the  cholera 
broke  out. 

In  the  afternoon  we  started  for  home,  reaching  there 
about  four  o'clock.  When  we  reached  Heathsville, 
the  place  where  we  lived,  we  noticed  as  we  rode  up  to 
the  stable  to  put  the  horses  away,  (for  we  were  on 
horse-back)  that  there  were  half  a  dozen  or  more 
young  men,  who  appeared  to  be  talking  and  whittling 
behind  the  stable.  The  stable  where  I  put  my  horse 
was  on  one  side  of  the  street,  and  the  stable  where  Zip 
was  to  put  his  was  on  the  opposite  side.  Zip  went  up 
to  the  door  to  put  his  horse  in,  but  found  that  it  would 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  39 

not  open  readily,  and  while  he  was  trying  to  open  it 
those  white  young  men  whom  we  saw  whittling,  sup 
posing  that  he  had  got  in,  began  to  assemble  around 
the  door.  Now  among  these  young  men  was  a  negro- 
trader  who  spoke  to  Zip,  asking  him  "  why  he  did  not 
go  in  and  put  the  horse  away."  Zip  told  him  that  "he 
could  not  get  the  door  open."  The  trader  then  took 
hold  of  the  door  and  it  came  open  immediately.  Zip 
was  so  astonished  to  think  that  the  door  opened  so 
readily  to  the  negro-trader,  and  did  not  yield  to  him, 
that  he  thought  there  must  be  something  wrong  about 
it.  He  refused  to  go  in  himself,  and  only  fastened  the 
horse's  bridle  to  a  fence,  then  went  over  to  the  tavern 
to  tell  the  hostler  that  he  might  put  the  horse  away. 
From  there  he  went  to  his  house,  for  he  lived  there  in 
town,  and  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  house  his  wife 
warned  him  to  flee  for  his  life,  for  a  trader  had  bought 
him,  and  had  been  to  the  house  with  several  young 
men  whom  we  saw  behind  the  stable  as  we  rode  up, 
placed  themselves  there  for  the  purpose  of  waiting  till 
we  came.  Their  motive  was,  when  Zip  went  into  the 
stable  to  close  the  door  on  him  and  capture  him. 

I  knew  nothing  about  this  at  the  time.  I  put  my 
horse  away,  went  to  the  house,  got  something  to  eat, 
then  started  to  go  off  some  five  miles  to  see  some  friends; 
but  before  I  started  I  thought  I  would  go  into  my 
shop  and  brush  my  coat ;  while  there  I  sat  down  on 
mv  bench  just  for  a  few  moments,  and  all  at  once  I 
fell  asleep.  When  I  awoke  the  sun  was  just  going 
down.  I  think  I  had  been  asleep  about  an  hour.  I 
did  not  have  any  idea  of  falling  asleep  when  I  entered 
the  shop,  for  I  intended  to  have  gone  out  of  town.  As 


40  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

quick  as  thought  I  jumped  up,  took  my  hat  and  started 
for  the  door;  just  as  I  opened  it  there  was  a  man  pass 
ing  by  whose  name  was  Griffin  Muse,  who  belonged 
on  James  Smith's  plantation  about  two  miles  off.  He 
saw  me  as  I  opened  the  door,  and  said  to  me,  "  Lind- 
sey,  where  have  you  been?  I  have  been  looking  for 
you  this  two  hours.  I  just  started  to  go  down  home 
and  give  up  the  search,  and  to  tell  Zip  that  I  could 
not  find  you."  Said  I,  "what  is  the  matter  ?"  Said  he  to 
me,  "did  you  not  know  that  Zip  was  sold  to  a  Geor 
gian  trader,  who  is  trying  to  catch  him."  Said  I, 
"where  is  Zip?"  I  am  sure  I  did  not  know  anything 
about  this,  I  did  not  dream  of  such  a  thing;  I  saw  this 
trader,  with  some  young  men  behind  the  stable,  but  did 
not  dream  that  he  was  after  Zip.  Griffin  Muse  said  to 
me,  "Zip  is  down  on  our  plantation,  and  has  sent  me 
after  you,  and  that  his  intention  is  to  try  to  make  his 
escape  to-night  to  a  free  country,  and  if  you  are  going 
with  him  to  go  to  him  as  soon  as  possible."  I  was  so 
astonished  that  I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  told 
him  to  "  wait  for  me,  and  I  would  get  ready  as  soon  as 
possible."  I  went  a  few  blocks  where  I  kept  my  box, 
and  in  it  I  had  three  dollars,  all  the  money  I  possessed 
in  the  world.  On  my  way  back  I  met  a  man  who 
owed  me  fifty  cents  ;  I  dunned  him,  and  as  good  luck 
would  have  it  he  had  the  money  and  paid  me. 

I  then  went  back  to  my  shop  and  picked  up  all  the 
things  that  I  thought  I  would  want  to  take  with  me. 
While  I  was  making  my  arrangements  my  boss  came 
into  the  shop.  As  soon  as  I  saw  him  coming  I  pushed 
my  bundle  under  the  bench  and  sat  down  on  the 
bench,  pretending  to  be  sick.  He  asked  me  if  I  "was 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  41 

going  to  church;"  I  told  him  I  thought  "  I  should  not, 
for  I  was  not  feeling  very  well."  After  a  while  he  went 
out  and  closed  the  door  after  him.  Soon  as  he  was 
gone  I  finished  gathering  up  my  things,  then  locked  up 
the  shop  and  went  into  the  "great  house"  to  put  the 
key  over  the  mantle-piece.  Then  Griffin  Muse,  Zip's 
wife  and  myself  started  for  Smith's  plantation,  about 
two  miles  from  Heathsville,  where  Zip  was  secreted. 

When  we  arrived  there  Zip  and  Lorenzo  were  just 
starting;  it  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock;  they  had  waited 
for  me  till  they  thought  I  was  not  coming.  They  were 
just  bidding  the  folks  farewell  as  I  arrived  at  the  house 
where  Zip  stopped.*  Two  minutes  more  and  I  would 
have  been  left  behind.  If  I  had  not  fallen  asleep  in 
the  shop  I  would  have  been  out  of  town,  and  I  should 
have  been  left,  for  Griffin  would  not  have  found  me  ;  and 
if  I  had  slept  one  minute  longer  he  would  have  passed 
by  the  shop  and  I  would  not  have  seen  him  ;  one 
minute  more,  either  way,  would  have  turned  the  scales. 

All  three  of  us,  Zip,  Lorenzo  and  myself,  assembled 
together  and  started  for  the  Gone  River,  about  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  from  where  we  were.  There  were  a  num 
ber  of  our  plantation  friends  who  went  with  us  ;  Zip's 
wife  and  her  mother,  and  a  number  of  others.  When 
we  came  to  the  river,  we  stood  on  the  beach  and  em 
braced,  kissed,  and  bade  each  other  farewell.  The 
scene  between  Zip  and  his  wife  at  parting  wras  distress 
ing  to  behold.  Oh  !  how  the  sobbing  of  his  wife  re 
sounded  in  the  depths  of  his  heart ;  we  could  not  take 
her  with  us  for  the  boat  was  too  small. 


*  These  were  Zip's  plantation  friends  that  were  at  this  cabin  home. 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

In  the  first  place  we  took  a  small  canoe  and  crossed 
the  river  till  we  came  to  a  plantation  owned  by  a  man 
named  Travis.  He  had  a  large  sail  boat  that  we  de 
sired  to  capture,  but  we  did  not  know  how  we  should 
accomplish  it,  as  they  took  a  great  deal  of  pains  gener 
ally  to  haul  her  up,  lock  her  up  and  put  the  sails  and 
oars  in  the  barn.  As  it  was  the  Sabbath  day,  the 
young  folks  had  been  sailing  about  the  river,  and  in 
stead  of  securing  her  as  they  usually  did,  they  left  her 
anchored  in  the  stream  with  the  sails  and  oars  all  in 
the  boat.  This  was  very  fortunate  for  us,  for  the 
house  was  very  near  to  the  shore,  besides  they  had 
very  savage  dogs  there.  So  it  would  have  been  a  very 
difficult  matter  for  us  to  attempt  to  capture  the  boat, 
sails  and  oars  if  they  had  been  where  they  were  gener 
ally  kept.  So  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  run  our  canoe 
along  side  the  boat  and  get  on  board. 

It  was  quite  calm  before  we  started,  but  as  soon  as 
we  got  ready,  and  the  sails  set,  the  wind  began  to  rise, 
and  all  that  night  we  had  all  the  wind  we  could  carry 
sail  to.  Lorenzo  and  myself,  by  keeping  our  oars  in 
motion,  outran  everything  that  stayed  on  the  water. 
By  the  next  morning  we  were  a  great  distance  from 
home.  We  sailed  all  day  and  night  Monday,  and  until 
Tuesday  night  about  nine  o'clock,  when  we  landed  just 
below  Frenchtown,  Maryland.  We  there  hauled  the 
boat  up  the  best  we  could,  and  fastened  her.  then  took 
our  bundles  and  started  on  foot.  Zip,  who  had  been  a 
sailor  from  a  boy,  knew  the  country  and  understood 
where  to  go.  He  was  afraid  to  go  through  French- 
town,  so  we  took  a  circuitous  route,  until  we  came  to 
the  road  that  leads  from  Frenchtown  to  New  Castle. 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  43 

Here  I  became  so  exhausted  that  I  was  obliged  to  rest  ; 
we  went  into  the  woods,  which  were  near  by,  and  laid 
down  on  the  ground  and  slept  for  an  hour  or  so,  then 
we  started  for  New  Castle. 

I  found  I  could  not  keep  up  with  my  companions, 
for  they  could  walk  much  faster  than  myself,  and  hence 
got  far  ahead,  and  then  would  have  to  wait  for  me ;  I 
being  lame  was  not  able  to  keep  up  with  them.  At 
last  Zip  said  to  me,  "  Lindsey,  we  shall  have  to  leave 
you  for  our  enemies  are  after  us,  and  if  we  wait  for  you 
we  shall  all  be  taken;  so  it  would  be  better  for  one  to 
be  taken  than  all  three."  So  after  he  had  advised  me 
what  course  to  take,  they  started,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
left  me  out  of  sight.  When  I  had  lost  sight  of  them  I 
sat  down  by  the  road-side  and  wept,  prayed,  and  wish 
ed  myself  back  where  I  first  started.  I  thought  it  was 
all  over  with  me  forever;  I  thought  one  while  I  would 
turn  back  as  far  as  Frenchtown,  and  give  myself  up  to 
be  captured ;  then  I  thought  that  would  not  do;  a  voice 
spoke  to  me,  "not  to  make  a  fool  of  myself,  you  have 
got  so  far  from  home,  (about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles),  keep  on  towards  freedom,  and  if  you  are  taken, 
let  it  be  heading  towards  freedom."  I  then  took  fresh 
courage  and  pressed  my  way  onward  towards  the  north 
with  anxious  heart. 

It  was  then  two  or  three  o'clock  Wednesday  morning, 
the  8th  of  May.  I  came  to  the  portion  of  the  road 
that  had  been  cut  through  a  very  high  hill,  called  the 
"  deep  cut,"  which  was  in  a  curve,  or  which  formed  a 
curve  ;  when  I  had  got  about  mid-way  of  this  curve  I 
heard  a  rumbling  sound  that  seemed  to  me  like  thunder; 
it  was  very  dark,  and  I  was  afraid  that  we  were  to  have 


44  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

a  storm  ;  but  this  rumbling  kept  on  and  did  not  cease 
as  thunder  does,  until  at  last  my  hair  on  my  head  be 
gan  to  rise;  I  thought  the  world  was  coming  to  the 
end.  I  flew  around  and  asked  myself,  "  what  is  it  ?"  At 
last  it  came  so  near  to  me  it  seemed  as  if  I  could  feel 
the  earth  shake  from  under  me,  till  at  last  the  engine 
came  around  the  curve.  I  got  sight  of  the  fire  and  the 
smoke  ;  said  I,  "  it's  the  devil,  it's  the  devil !"  It  was  the 
first  engine  I  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of;  I  did  not 
know  there  was  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  and 
being  in  the  night,  made  it  seem  a  great  deal  worse 
than  it  was ;  I  thought  my  last  days  had  come ;  I  shook 
from  head  to  foot  as  the  monster  came  rushing  on 
towards  me.  The  bank  was  very  steep  near  where  I 
was  standing;  a  voice  says  to  me,  "  fly  up  the  bank;" 
I  made  a  desperate  effort,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  bushes 
and  trees  which  I  grasped,  I  reached  the  top  of  the 
bank,  where  there  was  a  fence  ;  I  rolled  over  the  fence 
and  fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  last  words  I  remember 
saying  were,  that  "the  devil  is  about  to  burn  me  up. 
farewell !  farewell !  "  After  uttering  these  words  1 
fainted,  or  as  I  expressed  it,  I  lost  myself. 

I  do  not  know  how  long  I  lay  there,  but  when  I  had 
recovered,  (or  came  to  myself),  the  devil  had  gone. 
Oh  !  how  my  heart  did  throb  ;  I  thought  the  patrollers 
were  after  me  on  horseback.  After  I  had  gathered 
strength  enough  I  got  up  and  sat  there  thinking  what 
to  do;  I  first  thought  I  would  go  off  to  the  woods 
somewhere  and  hide  myself  till  the  next  night,  and 
then  pursue  my  journey  onward  ;  but  then  I  thought 
that  would  not  do,  for  my  enemies,  who  were  pursuing 
me,  would  overtake  and  capture  me.  So  I  made  up 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  45 

my  mind  that  I  would  not  loose  any  more  time  than 
was  necessary ;  hence  I  crawled  down  the  bank  and 
started  on  with  trembling  steps,  expecting  every  mo- 
merit  that  that  monster  would  be  coming  back  to  look 
for  me. 

Thus  between  hope,  and  fear,  and  doubt,  I  continued 
on  foot  till  at  last  the  day  dawned  and  the  sun  had 
just  began  to  rise.  When  the  sun  had  risen  as  high  as 
the  tops  of  the  trees,  the  monster  all  at  once  was  com 
ing  back  to  meet  me  ;  I  said  to  myself,  "it  is  no  use  to 
run,  I  had  just  as  well  stand  and  make  the  best  of  it," 
thinking  I  would  make  the  best  bargain  that  I  could 
with  his  majesty.  Onward  he  came,  with  smoke  and 
fire  flying,  and  as  he  drew  near  to  me,  I  exclaimed  to 
myself,  ''why  !  what  a  monster's  head  he  has  on  to  him." 
Oh  !  said  I,  "  look  at  his  tushes,*  I  am  a  goner  ;"  I  look 
ed  again,  saying  to  myself,  "  look  at  the  wagons  he  has 
tied  to  him."  Thinks  I,  "  they  are  the  wagons  that  he 
carries  the  souls  to  hell  with."  I  looked  through  the 
windows  to  see  if  I  could  see  any  black  people  that  he 
was  carrying,  but  I  did  not  see  one,  nothing  but  white 
people.  Then  I  thought  it  was  not  black  people  that 
he  was  after,  but  only  the  whites,  and  I  did  not  care 
how  many  of  them  he  took.  He  wrent  by  me  like  a 
flash  ;  I  expected  every  moment  that  he  would  stop 
and  bid  me  come  aboard,  (for  1  had  been  a  great  hand 
to  abuse  the  old  gentleman  ;  when  at  home  I  use  to 
preach  against  him),  but  he  did  not,  so  I  thought  that 
he  was  going  so  fast  he  could  not  stop.  He  was  soon 
out  of  sight,  and  I  for  the  first  time  took  a  long  breath. 

*  The  cow-catcher  in  front  of  the  engine. 


46  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

I  was  very  hungry,  for  I  had  not  eaten  anything 
much  for  two  days.  We  came  away  in  such  a  hurry 
that  we  did  not  have  time  to  prepare  much  food  ;  we 
took  only  some  corn-cake  and  a  little  bacon  ;  I  was 
almost  starved  to  death;  I  became  quite  weak,  and 
looked  around  on  the  ground  to  see  if  I  could  find  any 
thing  green  that  I  could  eat.  I  began  to  fail  very  fast, 
I  thought  I  should  die  there  on  the  road.  All  at  once 
I  came  to  a  house,  and  a  voice  seemed  to  say  to  me, 
"  go  to  that  house  and  see  if  you  can  get  something  to 
eat."  I  said  to  myself,  "  there  are  white  people  that  live 
there  and  I  shall  be  captured.  They  can  but  capture 
me,  and  if  I  stay  away  I  shall  die."  I  went  up  to  the 
door  and  rapped ;  a  lady  came  to  the  door  and  looked 
at  me  with  a  smile  upon  her  countenance  as  I  spoke  to 
her.  I  said  to  myself,  "  I  do  not  mind  you  white 
people's  smiles,  I  expect  you  think  to  make  money  off 
of  me  this  morning."  I  asked  her  if  "she  would  give 
me  something  to  eat."  She  said  "  she  had  nothing  cook 
ed,  but  if  I  would  come  in  she  would  get  me  something." 
I  thought  to  myself,  "I  know  what  that  means,  you  want 
me  to  come  in  in  order  to  capture  me  ;"  but  neverthe 
less  I  went  in,  and  she  set  a  chair  up  to  the  fire-place 
and  bade  me  sit  down.  Her  husband  sat  there  in  one 
corner,  and  looking  up  said  to  me  :  "  My  man,  you  are 
traveling  early  this  morning,"  I  said  "yes,  I  made  an 
early  start."  (I  did  not  tell  him  I  had  been  traveling 
all  day  and  all  night  for  three  nights.)  He  asked  me 
"how  far  I  was  going,"  I  told  him  "I  was  going  to  Phila 
delphia;  that  I  had  some  friends  there  whom  I  had  not 
seen  for  some  time,  and  I  was  going  to  visit  them,  and 
then  return  in  a  few  weeks."  Very  soon  his  wife  had 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  47 

my  break  fas  tall  ready  of  ham,  eggs,  and  a  meal -cake, 
and  put  them  on  the  table,  and  then  asked  me  to  sit 
down.  I  did  so,  without  waiting  for  a  second  invita 
tion,  and  the  first  mouthfull  I  took  seemed  to  me  as  if 
it  would  go  straight  through  me;  I  ate  till  I  became 
alarmed,  for  I  thought  I  would  betray  myself  by  my 
eating.  I  ate  up  most  everything  she  put  on  the  table, 
then  I  got  up  and  asked  "  what  I  should  pay  for  my 
breakfast,"  she  said  "  twenty-five  cents."  I  put  my  hand 
in  my  pocket  and  picked  out  a  quarter,  giving  it  to  her, 
I  started  on  my  journey,  feeling  like  a  new  man.  I 
walked  on  till  about  noon,  at  which  time  I  reached 
New  Castle.  The  first  one  I  saw  was  Lorenzo,  who 
was  one  of  the  men  who  left  me  on  the  road.  He  came 
a  little  way  out  of  the  city  to  look  for  me,  to  see  if  I  was 
any  where  in  sight ;  we  met  and  went  into  the  city, 
found  Zip,  and  once  more  we  were  together.  The  boat 
left  there  for  Philadelphia  twice  a  day.  She  had  left 
in  the  morning  before  they  had  arrived,  but  she  re 
turned  in  the  afternoon,  only  to  start  right  off  again 
the  same  afternoon. 

By  the  time  the  boat  had  returned,  I  was  there,  so 
we  three  all  went  on  board.  How  we  ever  passed 
through  New  Castle  as  we  did,  without  being  detected, 
is  more  than  I  can  tell,  for  it  was  one  of  the  worst 
slave  towns  in  the  country,  and  the  law  was  such  that 
no  steamboat,  or  anything  else,  could  take  a  colored 
person  to  Philadelphia  without  first  proving  his  or  her 
freedom.  What  makes  it  so  astonishing  to  me  is,  that 
we  walked  aboard  right  in  sight  of  every  body,  and  no 
one  spoke  a  word  to  us.  We  went  to  the  captain's 
office  and  bought  our  tickets,  without  a  word  being  said 
to  us. 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

We  arrived  safely  in  Philadelphia  that  afternoon  ; 
there  upon  the  wharf  we  separated,  after  bidding  each 
other  farewell.  Lorenzo  and  Zip  went  on  board  a  ship 
for  Europe,  and  went  to  sea.  I  started  up  the  street, 
not  knowing  where  I  was  going,  or  what  would  become 
of  me  ;  I  walked  on  till  I  came  to  a  shoe  store,  went  in 
and  asked  a  white  gentleman,  "  do  you  want  to  hire  a 
shoe-maker?"  He  said  "  I  do  not,  but  think  you  can 
find  a  place  by  going  a  little  further."  I  proceeded  a 
little  further,  and  came  to  a  shop  kept  by  a  colored 
man,  whose  name  was  Simpson.  I  went  in  and  intro 
duced  myself  to  him  the  best  I  could.  (I  did  not  let 
him  know  that  I  was  a  fugitive.)  We  sat  there  and 
talked  till  most  night  ;  I  then  asked  him  if  he  "  could 
keep  me  all  night?"  He  replied  "no,  for  it  was  not 
convenient  for  him  to  do  so." 

Here  I  was,  hedged  in,  not  knowing  what  course  to 
take  ;  I  was  down  cast,  and  the  thought  of  having  no 
friend  or  shelter  only  sank  me  into  deeper  perplexity. 
He  told  me  "he  had  a  brother  who  lived  on  a  certain 
street,  who  he  thought  would  take  me."  Hearing  this  I 
felt  somewhat  encouraged,  but  not  understanding  the 
number  he  gave  me,  in  order  to  find  his  brother,  I  was 
as  badly  off  as  before.  As  it  was  getting  late  he  began 
to  make  preparation  for  shutting  up  his  shop.  My 
heart  began  to  ache  within  me,  for  I  was  puzzled  what 
to  do;  but  just  before  he  shut  up,  a  colored  minister 
came  in;  I  thought  perhaps  I  could  find  a  friend  in 
him,  and  when  he  was  through  talking  with  Simpson 
he  started  to  go  out,  I  followed  him  to  the  side-walk 
and  asked  him  "  if  he  would  be  kind  enough  to  give  me 
lodging  that  night."  He  told  me  "he  could  not,  for  he 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  49 

was  going  to  church  ;  that  it  would  be  late  before  the 
service  closed,  and  besides  it  would  not  be  convenient 
for  him." 

Here  the  same  heavy  cloud  closed  in  upon  me  again, 
for  it  was  getting  dark,  and  I  had  no  where  to  sleep 
that  night.  Circumstances  were  against  me  ;  he  told 
me  "  I  could  get  a  lodging  place  if  I  would  go  to  the 
tavern."  I  made  no  reply  to  this  advice,  but  felt  some 
what  sad,  for  my  last  hope  had  fled.  He  then  asked 
me  if  "  I  was  free."  I  told  him  that  "  I  was  a  free  man." 
(I  did  not  intend  to  let  him  know  that  I  was  a  fugitive.) 
Here  I  was  in  a  great  dilemma,  not  knowing  what  to 
do  or  say.  He  told  me  if  "  I  was  a  fugitive  I  would  find 
friends."  "  If  any  one  needs  a  friend  I  do,"  thought  I  to 
myself,  for  just  at  this  time  I  needed  the  consolation 
and  assistance  of  a  friend,  one  on  whom  I  could  rely. 
So  thought  I,  "  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  make  known 
that  I  am  a  fugitive,  and  not  to  keep  it  a  secret  any 
longer."  I  told  him  frankly  that  "  I  was  from  the  South, 
and  that  I  was  a  runaway."  He  said,  "  you  are  ;"  I  said 
"yes."  He  asked  me  if  I  "had  told  Simpson;"  I  said  "no." 
He  then  called  Simpson  and  asked  him  "  if  he  knew  that 
this  brother  was  a  fugitive,"  He  said  "no."  After  finding 
this  to  be  a  fact,  Simpson  asked  me  if  "  that  was  so  ?"  I 
said  "it  was."  He  then  told  me  to  "come  with  him,  that 
he  had  room  enough  for  me."  I  went  home  with  him 
and  he  introduced  me  to  his  family,  and  they  all  had  a 
great  time  rejoicing  over  me.  After  giving  me  a  good 
supper,  they  secreted  me  in  a  little  room  called  the 
fugitive's  room,  to  sleep  ;  I  soon  forgot  all  that  occurred 
around  me.  I  was  resting  quietly  in  the  arms  of  sleep, 
for  I  was  very  tired. 
4 


50  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

The  next  morning  Simpson  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
two  men  who  had  been  with  me,  but  he  could  not  find 
them.  I  have  never  seen  them  since.  My  parting 
with  them  at  the  Philadelphia  wharf  was  the  last  I 
saw  of  them.  Simpson  then  went  among  the  Aboli 
tionists,  and  informed  them  of  my  case  ;  many  of 
them  came  to  see  me.  They  talked  of  sending  me  to 
England  ;  one  Quaker  asked  me  if  I  would  like  "  to  see 
the  Queen."  I  told  him  that  "  I  did  not  care  where  I 
went  so  long  as  I  was  safe."  They  held  a  meeting  that 
day,  and  decided  to  send  me  to  Springfield,  Mass.;  this 
was  the  fifth  day  after  I  left  home.  The  next  day,  Friday 
morning,  Brother  Simpson  took  me  down  to  the  steam 
boat  and  started  me  for  New  York,  giving  me  a  letter 
directed  to  David  Ruggles,  of  New  York. 

The  nearer  I  came  to  New  York  the  worse  I  felt,  for 
I  did  not  know  how  I  should  find  Mr.  Ruggles.  Just 
as  I  reached  the  dock  there  was  a  lady  whom  I  had 
never  seen  before  ;  I  went  to  her  and  asked  her  u  if  she 
knew  of  such  a  man,  by  the  name  of  David  Ruggles?" 
She  told  me  that  she  "  did  know  of  such  a  person,  and 
that  he  lived  on  her  way  home."  She  kindly  consented 
to  show  me  where  he  lived.  I  went  along  with  her 
without  any  more  trouble  in  mind  about  it.  I  gave 
Ruggles  the  letter,  and  we  had  a  great  time  rejoicing- 
together.  I  staid  with  him  till  Monday.  On  Monday, 
the  ninth  day  of  my  travels,  he  gave  me  two  letters, 
one  to  a  Mr.  Foster,  in  Hartford  ;  and  the  other  to 
Doctor  Osgood,  in  Springfield.  Mr.  Ruggles  sent  a 
boy  with  me  down  to  the  steamboat,  and  I  started  for 
Hartford  on  a  boat  which  sailed  in  the  afternoon. 

Towards  night  I  went  up  to  the  clerk's  office  to  pay 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  51 

my  fare.  I  asked  him  "how  much  it  would  be  ?"  He  told 
me  it  was  "  three  dollars."  I  told  him  it  was  a  large  sum 
of  money,  more  than  I  possessed."  He  then  asked  me 
"  how  much  I  had  ?"  I  told  him  "  two  dollars  and  fifty- 
eight  cents."  He  told  me  that  "that  would  not  do, 
and  that  I  must  get  the  rest  of  it."  I  told  him  "  that 
I  was  a  stranger  there,  and  that  I  knew  no  one."  He 
said:  "You  should  have  asked  and  found  out."  I 
told  him  "  I  did,  and  was  told  that  the  fare  would  be 
two  dollars,  and  that  was  nearly  all  I  possessed  at 
that  time."  He  requested  me  to  hand  it  to  him,  which 
I  did,  and  it  robbed  me  of  every  cent  I  had.  I  then 
took  my  ticket  and  went  forward  and  laid  down 
among  some  bales  of  cotton.  It  was  very  chilly  and 
cold,  and  I  felt  very  much  depressed  in  spirits  and 
cast  down. 

The  climate  had  changed  much  since  I  left  home,  I 
was  out  of  money  and  among  strangers  ;  my  heart  sank 
within  me,  for  I  was  faint  and  hungry,  and  had  no 
means  to  pay  for  my  supper.  I  fell  asleep  while  lying 
among  the  bales  of  cotton.  After  tea  was  over  with 
the  passengers,  one  of  the  waiters  came  and  awoke  me, 
and  asked  if  u  I  wanted  any  supper?"  I  replied  "no," 
knowing  that  I  had  no  means  to  pay  for  it.  Soon  another 
one  came  and  cordially  invited  me  to  partake  of  some, 
that  it  would  cost  me  nothing.  I  went  to  the  cabin, 
and  had  an  excellent  supper.  The  old  saying  proved 
true  in  my  case,  that  "a  friend  in  need  is  a  friend  in 
deed."  Before  I  retired  for  the  night,  some  one  came 
through  the  cabin  and  told  the  way-passengers  that 
they  must  come  to  the  captain's  office  and  leave  the 
number  of  their  berth  before  they  retired  for  the  night. 
I  did  not  know  what  he  meant  by  that  saying;  I 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

thought  it  meant  all  the  passengers  to  pay  extra  for 
their  berths.  Now,  thought  I,  if  that  is  the  case,  and 
I  sleep  in  the  berth  all  night,  and  in  the  morning  have 
no  money  to  pay  with,  I  shall  be  in  trouble  sure 
enough.  As  I  was  very  tired,  I  desired  very  much  to 
lie  down  and  rest ;  so  I  thought  I  would  risk  it  and  lie 
down  and  sleep  till  daylight.  I  reached  Hartford  quite 
early  the  next  morning,  so  I  lay  till  I  thought  the  boat 
was  along-side  the  wharf;  I  then  got  up  and  dressed 
myself  and  looked  at  the  number  of  my  berth,  as  I  was 
told  to  see  what  it  was,  so  if  I  should  meet  the  cap 
tain  I  could  tell  him.  I  then  started  for  the  deck,  and 
on  reaching  there  I  looked  around,  and  wondered  how 
I  should  find  Mr.  Foster.  While  I  was  looking,  I  saw 
a  colored  man  standing,  and  seemed  to  be  looking  at 
me;  I  went  up  to  him  and  asked  him  if  "he  knew  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Foster?"  He  replied:  "Yes." 
I  asked  him  if  he  would  show  me  where  he  lived  ?  He 
said  :  "  Yes."  So  he  went  along  with  me,  and  I  found 
Mr.  Foster's  residence,  by  directions  given  ;  and,  find 
ing  him  at  home,  I  presented  the  letter.  After  he  had 
read  it,  he  began  to  congratulate  me  on  my  escape. 
When  he  had  conversed  with  me  awhile,  he  went  out 
among  the  friends,  (Abolitionists),  and  informed  them 
of  my  circumstances,  in  order  to  solicit  aid  to  forward 
me  on  to  Springfield. 

Many  of  them  came  in  to  see  me,  and  received  me 
cordially;  I  began  to  realize  that  I  had  some  friends. 
I  stayed  with  Mr.  Foster  till  afternoon.  He  raised 
three  dollars  for  my  benefit  and  gave  it  tome,  and  then 
took  me  to  the  steamboat  and  started  me  for  Spring 
field.  I  reached  there  a  little  before  night. 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  53 

When  I  had  reached  the  wharf  I  stepped  ashore, 
and  saw  a  man  standing  on  the  dock  ;  and,  after  in 
quiries  concerning  Doctor  Osgood's  residence,  he 
kindly  showed  it  to  me.  The  Doctor,  being  at  home, 
I  gave  him  the  letter,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  read  it, 
he  and  his  family  congratulated  me  on  my  escape  from 
the  hand  of  the  oppressor.  He  informed  me  that  the 
letter  stated  "  that  he  could  either  send  me  to  Canada, 
or  he  could  keep  me  in  Springfield,  just  as  he  thought 
best."  He  said :  "I  think  we  will  keep  you  here,  so 
you  can  make  yourself  at  home."  The  family  gath 
ered  around  me  to  listen  to  my  thrilling  narrative  of 
escape.  We  talked  till  the  bell  notified  them  that  sup 
per  was  ready.  An  excellent  meal  was  prepared  for 
me,  which  I  accepted  gladly,  for  the  Doctor  was  a 
very  liberal  man,  saying  :  "  Friend,  come  in  and  have 
some  supper." 

Wheat  bread  was  the  same  as  cake  to  me  in  those 
days,  for  my  food  at  the  South  was  principally  corn- 
cake  and  bacon.  While  I  was  eating,  his  daughter 
said  :  "  Don  't  be  afraid,  but  help  yourself."  Not  be 
ing  accustomed  to  eating  at  the  "  great  house "  at 
home,  you  must  imagine  that  it  produced  some  em 
barrassment  in  my  mind.  When  the  supper  was  over, 
the  family  gathered  in  the  sitting-room  for  prayers,  as 
it  was  their  custom  to  read  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures 
before  retiring  for  the  night ;  and  I  was  asked  to  read 
with  them.  Before  conducting  prayers  the  Doctor 
sang  one  of  his  favorite  hymns,  in  which  all  the  family 
united.  I  listened  with  pleasure,  and  my  whole  soul 
entered  into  the  holy  service. 

The  next  morning  the  Doctor  asked  me  "  how  I  rest- 


54  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

ed?"  I  replied,  "  very  well  sir."  He  informed  me  that 
breakfast  would  soon  be  ready.  It  was  customary  for 
them  to  have  prayers  before  the  morning  meal,  which 
was  something  new  to  me  ;  it  seemed  more  like  a  meet 
ing  to  me,  to  attend  prayers  with  such  a  pious  family. 
Dr.  Osgood  was  very  benevolent,  and  his  charitable 
deeds  were  many;  none  were  turned  away  hungry  from 
his  door.  I  was  much  impressed  with  his  genial  spirit, 
consistent  and  zealous  piety,  and  activity  in  the  cause 
of  Christ.  His  life  was  upright,  pure,  and  good,  and 
his  Christian  faith  unfaltering.  None  in  want  ever  ap 
pealed  to  him  in  vain.  Truly  that  passage  of  Scripture 
can  be  applied  to  him,  "  For  I  was  an  hungered  and 
ye  gave  me  meat :  I  was  thirsty  and  ye  gave  me  drink  : 
1  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in:  Naked  and  ye 
clothed  me  :  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in 
prison  and  ye  came  unto  me."  "  Verily  I  say  unto 
you  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

Rev.  Dr.  Osgood  who  "always  abounded  in  the 
works  of  the  Lord,"  was  in  the  habit  of  rising  very 
early,  and  held  prayer  meetings  twice  a  week,  from  five 
to  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  young  and  the 
aged  gathered  at  the  chapel,  which  was  half-a-mile 
from  the  Doctor's  residence.  The  day  laborers  who 
"earned  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,"  at 
tended  before  going  to  work  ;  also,  the  wealthy  were 
there,  and  it  was  an  hour  of  refreshing  to  many  souls. 
The  invigorating  air  of  the  early  morning  seemed  to 
make  the  conference  room  a  fitting  place  for  the  holy 
spirit. 


ESCAPE    FROM    SLAVERY.  55 

The  opening  hymn  was  most  generally  sung,  begin 
ning  thus  : 

"  Lord,  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear 

My  voice  ascending  high  ; 
To  Thee  will  I  direct  my  prayer, 

To  Thee  lift  up  mine  eye. 

"  Up  to  the  hills  where  Christ  is  gone, 

To  plead  for  all  His  saints, 
Presenting  at  His  Father's  throne 

Our  songs  and  our  complaints." 
******* 

Which  echoed  beautifully  as  the  birds  sang  in  the 
spring  their  sweetest  carols,  as  they  flew  among  the 
branches  of  the  large  elm  tree  which  stood  before  the 
door  of  the  chapel.  All  were  very  devotional,  unlike 
as  it  is  with  us,  for  every  one  bowed  the  head  in  silent 
prayer  as  they  entered  the  house  of  God,  and  really 
it  did  seem  like  a  heaven  below. 

Dr.  Osgood  was  pastor  over  a  large  congregation. 
His  church  was  a  large,  white  Presbyterian  church,  on  a 
beautiful  green  lawn  not  far  from  the  chapel.  The  early 
morning  services  resulted  in  a  large  revival,  in  which 
one  hundred  came  out  on  the  Lord's  side,  rejoicing  in 
their  new-found  hopes.  All  were  made  welcome,  and 
Christian  fellowship  was  truly  exhibited  towards  all. 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER  V. 


LIFE  IN  FREEDOM. 

Employment  in  a  shoe  shop — Education  at  Wilbraham — Licensed 
to  preach — John  M.  Brown— Mrs.  Cecelia  Platt — Elizabeth 
Osgood — Sabbath  and  Mission  Schools — Return  to  Springfield — 
Engagement  with  Dr.  Hudson — Experience  at  Saybrook — Per 
secutions  of  Abolitionists — Lecturing — Courtship  and  marriage. 

]R.  OSGOOD  felt  an  interest  in  my  safety,  for 
my  master  was  on  my  track,  and  had  adver 
tised  me  through  the  press,  trying  every 
means  to  get  me,  if  possible.  The  Doctor  secreted 
me  in  a  little  room,  called  the  fugitive's  room.  As  I 
was  secreted,  all  schemes  to  capture  were  baffled. 

After  keeping  me  for  a  while,  the  Doctor  endeavored 
to  find  employment  for  me  as  a  shoe-maker  He  went 
to  several  persons,  but  found  none  that  would  take  me. 
Finally,  for  safety — and  the  last  resort — he  went  to  see 
Mr.  Elmore,  an  Abolitionist,  who  was  a  wholesale 
shoe  dealer  on  Main  Street.  He  readily  took  me,  say 
ing  :  "Bring  him  to  me,  I  want  to  see  him."  I  went 
to  him  one  night  with  the  Doctor,  and  he  made  a  bar 
gain  with  me,  and  also  gave  me  some  work  to  do  in  his 
work-shop,  secreted  from  public  gaze.  It  was  the  first 
work  I  had  ever  done  in  the  like  of  a  freedman,  which 
gave  me  strength  to  think  I  was  a  man  with  others. 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  57 

I  stayed  with  him  one  year,  and  during  that  year, 
besides  clothing  myself  and  paying  my  board,  I  saved 
one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  I  soon  became  a 
great  favorite  with  all  the  hands  in  the  shop.  1  well 
knew  a  man  in  Springfield  who  commenced  with  only 
six  cents  in  his  pocket — for  he  was  once  a  poor  ap 
prentice  bOy — who,  in  the  course  of  time  became  a 
wealthy  man,  which  gave  me  great  encouragement  to 
save  my  earnings. 

As  I  never  had  had  any  advantages  for  obtaining  an 
education,  I  felt  the  importance  of  it  at  this  time.  I 
made  known  my  desire  to  Mr.  Elmore,  who  said  it  was 
a  good  project,  and  advised  me  to  attend  school  by  all 
means.  The  old  saying  is,  "  it  is  money  that  makes 
the  wheels  turn,  but  after  all,  education  moves  the  loco 
motive."  I  then  made  preparation  to  attend  school  at 
Wilbraham,  Mass.  After  I  had  been  there  a  while  I 
became  quite  proficient  in  my  studies,  especially  in 
mathematics,  it  being  my  favorite  study.  At  first  I 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  up  with  the  course  of  study  ; 
I  overcame  it,  however,  and  progressed  so  rapidly  that 
the  students  and  the  faculty  of  the  academy  gave  me 
great  praise.  I  remained  two  or  three  years.  As  I 
was  a  poor  student,  I  worked  at  my  trade  to  pay  my 
board  and  tuition.  So  many  hours  were  given  me  for 
work,  and  so  many  for  study;  and  thus  I  kept  myself 
busily  employed  while  at  Wilbraham. 

The  reason  I  attended  school  there  was  because  it 
was  a  more  retired  place  for  me.  I  was  very  ambitious 
to  learn,  for  I  knew  I  would  be  better  qualified  to  enter 
into  business  for  myself,  which  I  had  some  thoughts  of 
doing  then.  While  I  was  at  Wilbraham  I  was  licensed 


58  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

to  preach  the  Gospel;  I  held  meetings  in  Springfield 
and  Ludlow,  and  the  Lord  blessed  me  in  my  endeav 
ors.  I  had  a  fellow-student  who  occupied  the  same 
room  with  me  ;  this  chum  of  mine  was  a  young  man 
from  Philadelphia,  by  the  name  of  John  M.  Brown, 
who  was  then  preparing  for  college.  After  completing 
the  academical  course,  he  attended  Oberlin  College,  and 
graduated  with  honors,  and  then  became  professor  of 
Wilberforce  College  for  young  men.  He  expressed  a 
strong  desire  for  me  to  finish  my  education  at  Oberlin, 
but  not  having  sufficient  means  to  pay  my  expenses,  I 
did  not  go. 

As  we  were  firm  friends,  it  was  sorrowful  for  us  to 
part,  as  I  found  much  pleasure  in  his  company.  We 
walked  together,  spent  our  hours  of  recreation  together, 
conversed  on  themes  that  interested  us  the  most  while 
we  were  students  at  Wilbraham. 

In  the  course  of  some  years  he  was  chosen  presiding 
Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  of  color. 
While  at  Wilbraham,  Mr.  Brown  and  myself  held  a 
series  of  meetings  in  Springfield,  at  the  house  of  a  Mrs. 
Cecelia  Platt,  for  the  colored  people  had  no  church  of 
their  own  at  this  time  to  worship  in.  Mrs.  Platt  was  a  de 
voted  Christian,  of  many  remarkable  characteristics, 
and  zealous  in  the  works  of  the  Lord.  She  long  since 
has  been  summoned  to  reap  her  reward  ;  she  died  in 
the  triumph  of  faith.  Her  house  was  the  welcome 
home  of  strangers  and  friends,  whom  she  always  made 
happy  and  comfortable.  Her  home  was  called  the 
"pastors'  home,"  for  they  were  always  made  welcome 
whenever  they  came.  Some  of  the  students,  those 
studying  for  the  ministry,  would  come  in  from  Wilbra- 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  59 

ham  on  Saturdays,  and  stop  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Platt, 
in  case  of  a  storm,  or  being  fatigued  by  the  journey, 
and  return  on  Monday  morning.  She  was  very  chari 
table  to  the  needy ;  as  a  Christian,  very  few  were  her 
equal.  It  was  there  where  the  first  preaching  service  was 
held,  and  the  first  Sabbath  School  began.  In  referring 
to  the  Sabbath  School,  I  must  acknowledge  that  those 
who  were  engaged  in  this  great  work  were  ardent  and 
active  workers,  for  there  were  no  timid  drones. 

Mrs.  Stebbins — better  known  as  the  teacher  among 
the  freedmen  in  the  barracks  in  Washington  has  since 
gone  to  rest  from  her  labors  ;  peacefully  fell  asleep  in 
Jesus — was  one  of  the  most  faithful  co-workers  of  this 
institution. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Osgood,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Osgood, 
was  very  enthusiastic  in  this  mission;  her  deeds  at 
tracted  more  than  a  passing  notice,  and  through  her 
instrumentality  many  poor  children  were  clothed  so  as 
to  be  presentable  for  the  Sabbath  School.  She  went 
out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  gathered  them 
in  with  their  tattered  garments,  with  the  promise  of  a 
new  suit  of  clothes  ;  and  thus  many  a  little  heart  was 
made  glad. 

Miss  Osgood  was  then  a  member  of  the  Washing- 
tonian  Society.  The  object  of  this  society  was  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poor.  Useful  articles  of  all  kinds  of 
wearing  apparel  were  made  for  the  needy. 

We  now  turn  our  thoughts  to  the  Sabbath  School. 
In  establishing  the  school  the  co-workers  took  pains, 
in  the  course  of  the  week,  to  notify  all  the  children  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  went  out  into  the  lanes  and 
hedges,  urging  them  to  come  into  the  proposed  school. 


60  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

They  were  taught  Bible  truths,  thus  preparing  them  for 
future  usefulness.  Many  of  the  scholars  were  newly 
impressed  with  something  that  would  go  with  them 
through  the  week,  and  restrain  them  from  sin  ;  also, 
keeping  them  in  the  fear  of  God.  The  influence  of 
the  Sunday  School  was  felt  in  the  community.  The 
scholars  became  interested  in  the  lessons,  and  loved 
and  respected  their  instructors.  Through  the  aid  of 
the  Presbyterians  this  school  was  organized;  and, 
opening  with  five  scholars,  the  number  increased  to 
twenty,  and  then  to  one  hundred.  A  small  library  was 
procured.  A  lady  aged  ninety  years,  who  attended 
the  school,  learned  to  read  the  Bible,  and  the  perusal 
of  its  sacred  pages  was  a  great  comfort  to  her. 

After  awhile,  when  the  school  was  fully  established, 
we  opened  a  class-meeting,  and  the  parents  of  the 
children,  and  other  adults,  began  to  flock  to  the  house 
of  prayer.  They  came  from  all  quarters  to  enjoy  one 
another's  experiences,  feeling  it  was  good  for  them  to 
be  there.  As  the  people  came  in  such  numbers,  there 
was  not  sufficient  room  in  Mrs.  Plait's  home  for  the 
convenience  of  the  people.  We  found  it  necessary  to 
build  a  Chapel  near  by,  and  accomplished  it  within  a 
year's  time.  It  was  plainly  built,  only  for  temporary 
use,  till  we  could  do  better.  Before  entering  it,  how 
ever,  a  large  revival  broke  out,  which  resulted  in  the 
conversion  of  souls. 

During  the  revival  I  generally  made  it  a  point  to  come 
in  from  Wilbraham — a  distance  of  nine  miles — Saturday 
afternoons  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  meetings 
on  the  Sabbath.  Occasionally  the  white  students  of 
Wilbraham  Academy  would  favor  me  with  a  pleasant 
drive  in  a  buggy.  Those  who  had  relatives  in  Spring- 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  61 

field  often  visited  them  on  Saturday.  They  came  to 
our  quarterly  and  revival  meetings,  and  seemed  to  take 
quite  an  interest  in  them.  They  were  very  enthusias 
tic,  and  helped  us,  by  their  remarks  and  testimonies, 
making  the  meetings  a  power  for  good.  Many  of  the 
faithful,  who  sustained  these  meetings,  have  long  ago 
been  called  to  the  great  "  Harvest  Home,"  where,  I 
doubt  not,  there  will  be  gathered  many  rich  and  pre 
cious  sheaves. 

At  this  time  the  colored  ladies  of  the  Chapel  re 
solved  to  organize  a  Sewing  Society,  which  con 
sisted  of  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer.  There  was  also  a  committee  of  ladies  who 
went  around  to  solicit  funds  to  carry  out  their  plans. 
They  had  no  regular  sewing  room,  but  went  around 
from  house  to  house. 

After  accumulating  thirty  or  forty  dollars'  worth  of 
sewing,  they  opened  a  fair  in  Masonic  Hall  ;  the  pro 
ceeds  were  used  towards  building  a  more  commodious 
Church  for  worship,  A  fair  audience  attended  ;  the 
hall  was  profusely  trimmed  with  evergreens,  and  the 
galleries  with  floral  wreaths,  intermingled  with  ever 
greens,  and  flags  placed  at  different  points."  Certain 
parts  of  the  hall  were  devoted  to  the  sale  of  useful  arti 
cles,  which  had  been  generously  donated  to  the  ladies 
by  the  merchants.  There  were  fancy  articles  of  all 
descriptions,  and  the  needle-work  was  finely  executed. 
The  ice-cream,  lemonade,  and  pastry  were  served  by 
competent  ladies,  who  received  a  liberal  patronage. 
The  ladies  labored  arduously  to  make  the  fair  a  suc 
cess,  and  their  untiring  efforts  were  well  rewarded. 
The  committee  received  from  time  to  time,  sums  of 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

money  from  benevolent  persons  to  encourage  them  in 
the  great  work  they  had  undertaken.  God  prospered 
them,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  a  Methodist 
Church  was  built  on  Main  Street.  Now  they  have  two 
churches;  the  second  church  is  on  Elm  Street. 

Many  changes  have  taken  place  in  Springfield  ;  the 
house  where  we  held  our  first  meeting  has  long  since 
been  completely  demolished,  and  given  place  to  rail 
road  tracks,  on  which  street  cars  and  omnibusses  run. 
In  -going  to  Chicopee  it  looks  like  a  level  plain  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach.  This  village  is  now  a  part  of 
Springfield,  making  it  a  city  of  many  manufacturing 
resources,  and  in  consequence  is  a  thrifty  and  enter 
prising  city.  So  time  changes  all  things. 

Finally  I  left  school  and  returned  to  Springfield.  I 
became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Hudson,  an  Abolitionist 
of  great  note  in  those  days,  who  was  an  anti-slavery 
lecturer.  It  was  no  small  thing  to  be  a  worker  in  such 
a  cause.  The  Doctor  engaged  me  to  travel  with  him 
for  one  year;  I,  according  to  agreement,  accompanied 
him,  for  I  desired  to  do  all  the  good  I  could.  We  had 
great  success  in  our  mission  ;  we  traveled  all  through 
the  eastern  and  western  part  of  Connecticut,  and  a  part 
of  Massachusetts.  We  had  some  opposition  to  contend 
with  ;  it  made  it  much  better  for  the  Doctor  in  having 
me  with  him.  Brickbats  and  rotten  eggs  were  very- 
common  in  those  days  ;  an  anti-slavery  lecturer  was 
often  showered  by  them.  Slavery  at  this  time  had  a 
great  many  friends. 

When  we  were  in  Saybrook  there  was  but  one  Abo 
litionist  in  the  place,  and  whose  wife  was  sick.  As  we 
could  not  be  accommodated  at  his  house,  we  stopped 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  63 

at  a  tavern  ;  the  inmates  were  very  bitter  toward  us, 
and  more  especially  to  the  Doctor.  I  became  much 
alarmed  about  my  own  situation  ;  there  was  an  old  sea 
captain  who  was  there  that  night,  and  while  in  conver 
sation  with  the  Doctor,  had  some  very  hard  talk,  which 
resulted  in  a  dispute,  or  contest  in  words ;  I  thought  it 
would  terminate  in  a  fight.  The  captain  asked  the 
Doctor,  "  what  do  you  know  about  slavery  ?  All  you 
know  about  it  I  suppose,  is  what  this  fellow  (meaning 
me)  has  told  you,  and  if  I  knew  who  his  master  was,  and 
where  he  was,  I  would  write  to  him  to  come  on  and 
take  him."  This  frightened  me  very  much  ;  I  whisper 
ed  to  the  Doctor  that  we  had  better  retire  for  the  night. 
We  went  to  our  rooms.  I  feared  I  should  be  taken  out 
of  my  room  before  morning,  so  I  barred  my  door  with 
chairs  and  other  furniture  that  was  in  the  room,  before 
I  went  to  bed.  Notwithstanding,  I  did  not  sleep  much 
that  night.  When  we  had  arisen  the  next  morning  and 
dressed  ourselves,  we  went  down  stairs,  but  did  not 
stay  to  breakfast;  we  took  our  breakfast  at  the  house 
of  the  man  whose  wife  was  sick.  We  gave  out  notice, 
by  hand-bills,  that  we  would  lecture  in  the  afternoon; 
so  we  made  preparation,  and  went  at  the  time  appoint 
ed.  The  hall  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  but  we 
could  not  do  much,  owing  to  the  pressure  that  was  so 
strong  against  us :  hence  we  had  no  success  in  this 
place.  We  went  to  the  tavern  and  stayed  that  night. 
The  next  morning  we  went  about  two  miles  from  this 
place  to  the  township,  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  a 
friend  ;  one  of  the  same  persuasion.  He  went  to  the 
school  committee,  and  got  the  use  of  the  school-house. 
We  gave  out  notice  that  there  would  be  an  anti-slavery 


64  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

lecture  in  the  school-house  that  night.  When  it  was 
most  time  for  us,  word  came  that  we  could  not  have 
the  school-house  for  the  purpose  of  such  a  lecture. 

We  thought  that  we  would  not  be  out-done  by  ob 
stacles.  The  man  at  whose  house  we  were  stopping  cor 
dially  told  us  that  we  might  have  the  use  of  his  house; 
so  we  changed  the  place  of  the  lecture  from  the  school- 
house  to  his  house.  The  house  was  full  ;  and  we  had, 
as  we  thought,  a  good  meeting.  At  the  close  of  the 
lecture  the  people  retired  for  home.  After  awhile  we 
retired  for  the  evening,  feeling  that  we  had  the  victory. 

The  next  morning  the  Doctor  went  to  the  barn  to 
feed  his  horse,  and  found  that  some  one  had  entered 
the  barn  and  shaved  his  horse's  mane  and  tail  close  to 
the  skin  ;  and,  besides,  had  cut  our  buffalo  robe  all  in 
pieces  ;  besides  shaving  the  horse,  the  villians  had  cut 
his  ears  off.  It  was  the  most  distressed  looking  animal 
you  ever  saw,  and  was  indeed  to  be  pitied.  The  Dr. 
gathered  up  the  fragments  of  the  buffalo  robe  and 
brought  them  to  the  house  ;  it  was  a  sight  to  behold  ! 

We  intended  to  have  left  that  day,  but  we  changed 
our  minds  and  stayed  over  another  night,  and  held 
another  meeting.  The  house  was  crowded  to  excess 
that  evening  ;  at  the  close  of  the  service  the  Doctor 
told  how  some  one  had  shaved  and  cut  his  horse,  and 
brought  out  the  cut  robe  and  held  it  up  before  the 
people,  saying  :  "  This  is  the  way  the  friends  of  slavery 
have  treated  me.  Those  who  have  done  it  are  known, 
but  I  shall  not  hurt  a  hair  of  their  heads.  I  hope  the 
Lord  may  forgive  them."  The  people  seemed  to 
feel  very  badly  about  it. 

We  left  the  next  day  for  another  place  ;    the  name  I 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  65 

cannot  recall  now.  We  had  better  success  when  we 
went  to  Torringford,  for  here  the  people  had  just 
passed  through  a  terrible  mob,  on  account  of  an  anti- 
slavery  lecturer.  The  mob  broke  the  windows  of  the 
church,  and  the  lecturer  had  to  escape  for  his  life. 
We  arrived  here  on  Saturday,  and  put  up  with  one  of 
the  deacons  of  the  church.  The  next  morning,  after 
breakfast,  he  harnessed  up  his  horse  and  sleigh,  (for  it 
was  winter),  and  he  and  his  family  and  I  drove  off  to 
the  church.  Every  eye  was  upon  me.  The  deacon 
said  to  me:  "  Follow  me,  and  sit  with  me  in  my  pew." 
I  did  so,  and  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  me,  I  being  a 
colored  man  ;  and,  being  seated  in  a  deacon's  pew, 
caused  quite  a  stir  or  bustle  among  the  worshipers. 
There  was  such  a  commotion  that  the  minister  could 
hardly  preach. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  one  of  the  other  deacons 
came  to  the  one  that  I  was  with,  and  seemed  to  be 
much  excited.  My  friend  asked  him  :  "  What  is  the 
matter,  you  appear  to  be  mad  ?"  "-No,"  says  he,  "  I 
am  not  mad ;  but  grieved  to  think  that  you  have  taken 
that  nigger  into  the  pew  with  you  ;  I  think  you  had 
better  promote  your  own  niggers  instead  of  strangers." 
My  friend  told  him  that  "  the  pew  was  his  ;  that  he  had 
paid  for  it,  and  that  he  had  the  right  to  have  any  one 
sit  with  him  whom  he  chose ;  and  that  he  did  not 
think  that  it  was  anybody's  business."  When  the  con 
troversy  was  over  we  went  home  and  ate  dinner. 

In  the  afternoon  we  started  for  the  church  again,  and 

after  arriving  there  I  took  my  seat  with  the  deacon  ;  it 

did  not  affect  the  worshipers  so  much  this  time  as  it  did 

in  the  morning.     After  the  meeting  closed  we  started  for 

5 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

home,  and  ate  our  supper;  and  in  the  evening  the 
Doctor  and  I  intended  to  have  the  church  for  our  lec 
ture. 

On  arriving  there,  Oh  !  such  a  crowd  met  us  at  the 
door  that  we  could  hardly  get  in.  Through  persever 
ance  we  made  our  way  to  the  pulpit  and  took  our  seats. 
Some  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  mob  a  few 
months  before  came  and  took  the  front  seats,  and 
looked  as  though  they  could  devour  us.  1  did  not 
know  what  would  become  of  us  that  night. 

We  began  our  meeting.  The  Doctor  spoke  first. 
They  did  not  intend  to  have  him  speak,  (being  a  white 
man),  for  the  men  were  desirous  to  hear  me  ;  they  kept 
quiet,  however,  for  the  sake  of  hearing  me.  When  the 
Doctor  was  through  I  took  the  stand,  and  before  I  had 
finished  my  talk  took  all  the  fight  out  of  them  ;  some 
of  them  wept  like  children;  so  you  see  that  it  changed 
those  men's  hearts  towards  us,  for  a  sympathetic  feel 
ing  seemed  to  pervade  through  their  hearts.  I  made 
many  friends' for  myself  that  night.  I  heard  one  of 
them  say  that  "  if  my  master  came  there  after  me  he 
would  fight  for  me  as  long  as  he  had  a  drop  of  blood 
in  him."  There  were  no  more  mobs  in  Torringford 
after  that. 

We  then  started  for  other  parts  of  the  State,  and  the 
work  of  the  Lord  prospered  in  our  hands.  I  went  back 
to  Wilbraham  and  lectured  in  the  hall  to  a  large 
audience;  and  from  there  I  went  to  South  Wilbraham, 
and  spoke  in  the  M.  E.  Church  to  a  full  house.  Many 
that  heard  of  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  slave,  wept  like 
children;  many  turned  from  slavery  to  anti-slavery. 
1  went  from  South  Wilbraham  to  Boston,  and  spoke  in 


LIFE    IN    FREEDOM.  67 

the  Spring  Street  Church  before  a  large  assembly.  I 
spoke  in  Worcester,  and  many  left  the  slavery  ranks 
and  joined  the  anti-slavery.  I  have  spoken  in  some 
places  in  Connecticut  where  the  people  have  acted  as 
though  they  had  never  seen  a  colored  man  before  ;  they 
would  shake  hands  with  me  and  then  look  at  their 
hands  to  see  if  I  had  left  any  black  on  them.  I  met 
with  success  every  where  I  went ;  I  traveled  all  the 
winter  of  1842  with  the  Doctor,  and  in  the  spring  fol 
lowing  I  left  him  and  returned  to  Springfield,  to  re 
sume  my  trade  again,  (boot  and  shoe-making),  and 
worked  a  few  months. 

During  my  first  year  with  Mr.  Elmore  I  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  a  young  lady,  Miss  Emeline  Minerva 
Platt,  who  was  visiting  one  fourth  of  July  a  friend  of 
mine,  at  whose  home  I  boarded  for  a  time.  At  this 
time  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  settle  North,  and  had 
given  up  all  idea  of  ever  visiting  my  Southern  friends. 
As  I  had  often  seen  this  lady,  in  company  with  other 
friends,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity,  on 
this  occasion,  to  offer  my  hand  in  marriage. 

Four  years  from  my  first  acquaintance,  in  the  spring 
of  1842,  we  were  married.  I  have  three  daughters 
and  one  son. 


68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


LIFE  IN  NORWICH,  CONN. 

Came  to  Norwich — Started  business — Purchase  a  house — Perse 
cutions  and  difficulties — Ministerial  labors — Church  troubles — 
Formation  of  a  new  Methodist  Church — Retiring  from  minis 
terial  work — Amos  B.  Herring — Mary  Humphreys — Sketches 
of  life  and  customs  in  Africa. 

N  coming  to  Norwich,  Conn.,  in  1842,  I  took 
a  shop  on  Main  Street,  near  where  Perkins 
Block,  now  stands ;  here  I  remained  one 
year.  The  next  year,  1843,  I  moved  across  Franklin 
Square,  in  the  rear  of  Chapman's  Block,  the  place  now 
occupied  by  R.  R.  Armstrong  as  a  fish-market;  here  I 
remained  till  I  was  burned  out.  This  shop  contained 
a  side-room,  which  was  occupied  by  John  Wells,  who 
hired  it  of  me,  and  was  employed  as  a  boot  black.  On 
the  night  of  the  fire  he  was  asleep  in  his  room,  and 
came  very  near  loosing  his  life;  by  breaking  his  door 
open  he  was  rescued  from  the  burning  flames.  This 
shop  was  burned  to  the  ground.  I  then  moved  to  a 
shop  on  Shetucket  Street,  and  from  here  to  a  shop  in 
Chapman's  Block,  where  I  remained  for  a  number  of 
years.  I  then  secured  a  shop  on  Bath  Street,  where  I 
am  located  at  the  present  time. 


LIFE    IN    NORWICH,    CONN.  69 

In  first  coming  to  Norwich,  I  established  myself  in 
business  with  a  full  line  of  customers.  I  then  looked 
about  for  a  tenement  to  live  in  and  succeeded  in  find 
ing  one,  through  a  friend,  on  Franklin  Street,  and  then 
I  returned  to  Massachusetts  for  my  wife,  who  came  in 
June.  After  living  two  years  and-a-half  on  this  street, 
I  moved  to  a  tenement  on  School  Street,  where  I  re 
mained  one  year.  The  next  year  I  had  accumulated 
money  enough  to  pay  one-half  for  a  frame  house — only 
a  few  steps  from  where  I  then  lived — before  taking 
possession  of  it.  Three  years  from  this  time  I  paid  off 
all  the  mortgage  on  the  house;  then  I  truly  felt  that  it 
was  my  own,  since  through  my  energy  and  toil,  I  had 
gained  it. 

In  establishing  myself  in  business,  Mr.  Gurdon  A. 
Jones,  a  wholesale  shoe  dealer,  patronized  me  by  giving 
me  his  custom  work.  He  was  the  first  shoe  dealer  who 
gave  me  work,  and  thus  greatly  assisted  me  towards 
my  accumulations. 

As  the  years  rolled  on  my  family  began  to  increase 
so  that  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  procure  a  larger 
house.  Having  made  several  attempts,  I  bought  a 
desirable  one  on  Oak  Street.  After  a  struggle  of  a  few 
years  we  moved  into  our  new  home.  Reader,  you 
must  not  think  that  I  obtained  it  without  any  trouble. 
Ah  !  no  ;  it  was  under  difficulties  ;  I  had  many  a  heart 
ache  :  I  was  persecuted  on  every  hand  for  getting  a 
home.  While  many  would  be  encouraged  for  their  in 
dustry  and  toil,  my  people  are  subject  to  all  sorts  of 
abuse  for  buying  desirable  homes  for  their  families. 
We  were  in  Norwich  when  colored  young  men  were 
not  allowed  to  attend  the  High  School  that  was  kept 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

for  young  men  on  School  Street.  A  promising  young 
man  of  color  applied  for  admission,  and  was  promptly 
rejected.  It  is  owing  to  being  deprived  of  the  chance 
to  acquire  an  education  that  many  of  the  old  inhabi 
tants,  and  the  young,  are  ignorant  to-day. 

We  were  waiting  with  anxious  expectation  for  the  day 
to  dawn,  to  enjoy  all  our  privileges  and  equal  rights  as 
citizens.  We  have  waded  through  many  trials,  and 
suffered  every  thing  but  death  itself,  in  endeavoring  to 
educate  our  children  ;  many  a  time  they  have  been  to 
school  with  a  heavy  heart  while  trying  to  solve  some 
problem  or  translation.  Oh  !  how  my  heart  went  out 
for  them ;  they  were  not  easily  daunted,  for  they  were 
filled  with  enthusiastic  ardor;  they  shrank  from  no 
obstacles.  The  old  saying  is,  "  the  darkest  hour  is  just 
before  dawn." 

My  two  daughters,  Louie  Amelia  Smith,  and  Emma 
J.  I.  Smith,  after  completing,  the  former  a  classical  and 
the  latter  an  English  course  at  the  Norwich  Free 
Academy,  in  Norwich,  graduated  from  that  institution, 
and  thus  qualified  themselves  for  future  usefulness. 
They  have  proved  very  successful  as  teachers  in  Wash 
ington,  D.  C.  My  eldest  daughter,  Sarah  Ann  Smith, 
a  graduate  from  the  Normal  Grammar  School,  is  living 
at  home  and  making  herself  useful.  My  son,  James 
H.  Smith,  follows  the  trade  of  his  father. 

The  first  commencement  of  my  ministerial  labors, 
after  I  came  to  Norwich,  was  in  a  Union  Church  on 
Allen  Street.  There  were  two  colored  denominations 
which  worshiped  in  this  church — the  Methodists  and 
Presbyterians;  both  societies  had  a  share  in  this 
church.  The  agreement  was  that  each  denomination 


LIFE    IN    NORWICH,    CONN.  71 

were  to  take  their  turns  in  leading  the  meetings.  The 
Methodists  were  very  anxious  to  have  me  preach  for 
them,  and  the  Presbyterians  desired  a  pastor  of  their 
own  persuasion.  The  upper  part  of  the  church  was 
used  for  the  Sabbath  school,  and  the  basement  for  the 
preaching  services.  The  reason  for  this  was,  because 
the  regular  audience  room  was  not  finished.  The  stove 
was  moved  to  either  part  of  the  house,  to  suit  their 
convenience.  Prayer  and  class  meetings  were  often 
held  during  the  week  at  private  houses.  The  Metho 
dists  were  very  zealous,  and  generally  conducted  the 
services  on  the  Sabbath  that  the  Presbyterians  right 
fully  claimed.  This  caused  a  strife  among  them,  and 
then  a  controversy  arose  with  reference  to  the  two 
ministers. 

One  evening  while  I  was  preaching,  a  red  hot  stove 
was  carried  out  from  the  upper  part  of  the  church  into 
the  street  by  the  opposite  party  ;  when  the  heat  had 
abated  somewhat,  they  carried  it  into  the  basement. 
The  lights  were  put  out,  leaving  me  in  total  darkness  ; 
the  meeting  got  fairly  beyond  control;  the  seats  and 
floor  were  well  besmeared  with  oil.  More  lamps  were 
procured  from  the  neighboring  houses,  and  I  continu 
ed  the  services  till  we  were  completely  frozen  out,  and 
were  obliged  to  close  before  the  usual  time.  The 
other  party  continued  till  after  nine  o'clock 

The  two  societies  never  became  reconciled  to  each 
other,  and  consequently  there  was  a  split  in  the  church. 
The  Presbyterians  stayed  at  their  post,  while  the 
Methodists  went  off  by  themselves,  and  gave  up  all 
they  had  put  in  the  church  to  the  Presbyterians.  To 
keep  themselves  together,  they  held  meetings  at  private 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

houses,  of  great  spiritual  power.  This  separation  weak 
ened  the  Presbyterians  somewhat,  and  they  disbanded 
soon  after,  as  the  Methodists  formed  the  larger  part  of 
the  congregation.  Prior  to  this  a  singing  school  was 
opened,  and  they  made  a  vast  improvement  in  the 
singing.  Thus  was  the  beginning  of  my  first  trials  in 
the  ministry. 

The  Methodists,  after  awhile,  bought  a  building  lot 
in  the  rear  of  Franklin  Street,  of  William  Prentice, 
for  which  they  paid  him  two  hundred  dollars.  Rev. 
Leaven  Tilman  came  to  Norwich  to  aid  us  in  organiz 
ing  a  Methodist  Church,  as  it  was  his  business  to  or 
ganize  churches  wherever  they  were  needed.  He  went 
around  to  solicit  funds  for  that  purpose,  and  was  very 
zealous  in  the  work.  Myself  and  others,  with  his  aid, 
solicited  funds  for  purchasing  the  ground,  and  for  the 
building.  After  the  house  was  completed  it  was  dedi 
cated  to  the  Lord.  At  the  dedication,  Bishop  Quinn, 
Bishop  Clark,  Rev.  H.  J.  Johnson,  and  others,  were 
present  and  conducted  the  services. 

We  opened  a  Sabbath  school  and  were  prospered  in 
our  good  work;  we  formed  a  bible-class,  and  opened 
a  singing  school.  The  bible-class  consisted  of  young 
men  who  had  formed  themselves  into  a  club  called  the 
"  Young  Men's  Christian  Association."  Every  Sabbath 
they  were  found  in  their  places,  and  the  class  was  in  a 
flourishing  condition. 

The  church  was  under  the  supervision  of  our  New 
England  Conference,  which  supplied  us  with  ministers. 
I  preached  for  the  people  of  this  parish  for  twenty 
years.  We  experienced  many  refreshing  seasons ;  death 
invaded  our  ranks,  calling  out  some  very  faithful  and 


LIFE    IN    NORWICH,   CONN.  73 

efficient  helpers.  The  Sabbath  school  was  broken  up 
on  account  of  the  death  of  its  prominent  leaders. 

At.  the  time  of  the  great  rebellion  the  young  men  of  the 
church  disbanded  and  responded  readily  to  their  coun 
try's  call.  Although  there  were  many  obstacles  to  retard 
the  progress  of  the  church,  yet  there  were  a  few  who 
held  on  and  hoped  for  better  days.  I  was  ordained 
Deacon,  at  the  New  England  Conference,  and  after  be 
ing  with  them  four  years,  they  appointed  me  Local 
Deacon.  During  my  whole  ministry  in  the  church,  I 
had  no  regular  salary;  I  worked  at  my  trade  to  sup 
port  myself  and  family.  I  was  compelled,  by  growing 
infirmities  to  retire  from  my  pastoral  labors,  feeling 
that  the  days  of  my  active  usefulness  were  almost  over. 
The  house  of  worship  became  so  dilapidated  as  the 
years  rolled  on  that  we  sold  it,  and  it  passed  into  other 
hands. 

After  Mr.  Gurdon  A.  Jones'  decease,  the  well-known 
firms  of  E.  G.  Bidwell,  J.  H.  Kelley,  and  J.  F.  Cos- 
grove  employed  me  for  years  to  do  their  custom  work, 
which  was  quite  a  pecuniary  assistance  and  help  to  me. 

During  my  stay  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  Amos  B.  Her 
ring,  a  native  of  Africa.  It  seems  he  had  been  on  to 
Springfield  once  before,  but,  not  having  finished  his 
education,  he  had  returned  to  complete  his  course  at 
Wilbraham  Academy.  He  was  a  widower  with  six 
boys,  the  two  eldest  of  whom  he  had  left  in  Paris,  to  be 
educated,  while  he  had  come  here.  His  wife  had 
been  dead  four  years  ;  so  he  left  his  beautifully  fur 
nished  house  in  Monrovia  in  charge  of  a  housekeeper, 
paying  her  a  dollar  a  month — just  here  you  will  see  how 


74  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

low  wages  were  in  Africa.  He  told  me  every  thing  was 
nearly  as  cheap  as  could  be.  He  had  not  been  in 
Springfield  long  before  he  became  acquainted  with  a 
Mrs.  Lucy  Terret,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  They  mar 
ried  ;  but  upon  his  returning  to  Africa  his  wife  did  not 
long  survive.  She  had  made  a  great  many  friends 
during  her  stay  in  Springfield,  and  when  he  wrote  back 
that  his  wife  was  dead  we  could  not  but  regret  that  she 
had  ever  left  us.  Soon  after  her  arrival  in  Monrovia 
she  was  attacked  with  a  fever,  from  which  she  died. 
She  was  very  fond  of  the  tropical  fruit  which 
abounded,  such  as  bananas,  bread-fruit  and  dates, 
and  had  been  cautioned  about  eating  it  before  she  was 
fully  acclimated.  At  one  time  it  was  thought  she 
would  live  through  the  attack,  but  she  insisted  on 
tasting  the  fruit,  which  she  appeared  to  enjoy  better 
than  any  thing  else.  A  daughter  by  a  former  marriage — 
a  sweet  and  attractive  child — also  found  a  grave  in  a 
foreign  land. 

Another  friend  of  mine,  Miss  Mary  Humphreys,  also 
went  to  Africa  as  a  missionary,  and  established  a 
school  in  Monrovia.  Her  sole  object  in  going  was  to 
do  all  the  good  she  could  in  the  way  of  enlightening 
her  people.  Soon  she  was  smitten  down  with  the 
African  fever.  So  we  see  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
persons  from  this  country  to  live  in  that  climate. 
Very  few  survive  the  fever,  and  the  fever  they  must 
have.  I  remember  when  there  was  so  much  talk  about 
emigrating  to  Liberia  that  quite  a  number  of  my  peo 
ple  embarked  for  the  foreign  land.  Accounts  after 
wards  showed  that  most  of  them  died,  if  not  on  ship 
board,  soon  after  they  reached  shore. 


LIFE    IN    NORWICH,    CONN.  75 

Mr.  Herring  and  myself  often  enjoyed  many  pleas 
ant  conversations.  I  used  to  love  to  hear  him  tell  of 
Africa  I  had  read  so  much  about.  He  said  that  Mon 
rovia  was  quite  a  thriving  town  then,  and  a  great  spec 
ulative  mart  for  merchants  of  all  nations.  Many  of  the 
merchants  who  live  there  can  not  own  lands,  but  can 
hire  them.  In  passing  the  king,  the  white  man  is 
obliged  to  take  off  his  hat.  It  is  necessary,  in  present 
ing  yourself  before  a  chief  or  king,  to  carry  a  lot  of 
presents  to  insure  a  welcome,  notwithstanding  they 
may  not  be  of  very  great  value ;  but  they  must  be 
showy,  such  as  bright  colored  shirts,  and  red  cloth 
which  is  worn  to  adorn  the  breast  pocket.  Only  a 
few  of  the  Africans  are  able  to  wear  stripes  of  red 
cloth.  Some  are  clad  entirely  in  shirts  made  of  leather, 
which  they  skillfully  prepare.  I  was  quite  amused  at 
his  account  of  a  chief  who  consumed  daily  a  sheep 
and  the  milk  of  seven  cows. 

The  king  partook  of  a  kind  of  macaroni,  prepared 
from  wheat,  with  a  rich  seasoning  of  butter;  while  the 
natives  ate  apples  pounded  up  and  simmered  down,  in 
the  place  of  real  butter,  which  they  considered  very 
good.  The  natives  burnt  a  kind  of  brush  to  keep  the 
panthers  and  hyenas  away,  which  abounded  in  large 
numbers. 

In  speaking  of  Africa,  I  would  say  that  slavery  still 
exists  there.  Slave  ships  are  traveling  to  and  fro  from 
Africa  to  many  of  our  foreign  ports  laden  with  slaves. 
We  look  forward  to  the  day  when  Africa  shall  be  free, 
and  my  people  shall  have  that  liberty  that  rightfully 
belongs  to  them.  Many  missionaries  have  gone  out 
there  to  enlighten  and  teach  the  natives  the  "  Good 


76  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

Way  ;"  but  after  awhile  we  find  most  of  them  more  in 
terested  in  the  gold  and  silver  than  in  the  civilization 
of  the  people. 

In  referring  to  the  chief  who  consumed  a  sheep 
every  day,  you  must  not  think  this  species  were  as  large 
as  the  American  sheep.  These  animals  were  not  fat 
tened  like  the  sheep  among  us.  They  were  very  lean, 
and  scarcely  any  fat  on  their  ribs.  They  resided  in 
the  dense  forests,  and  sought  their  own  food,  and  sub 
sisted  on  all  kinds  of  nuts,  tropical  fruits,  or  anything 
they  could  find  to  eat.  They  inhabited  the  interior 
of  Western  Africa,  and  other  parts  of  the  country. 
The  cows,  also,  for  the  want  of  care  and  green  pasture 
fields  to  feed  in,  were  not  as  large  in  size  as  those  in 
America;  and,  for  this  reason,  they  gave  a  small  sup 
ply  of  milk  daily.  It  required  a  supply  of  milk  from 
seven  cows  in  order  to  obtain  milk  enough  for  the 
chief. 


THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION.  77 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  WAR  OF  THE   REBELLION. 

Desire  to  return  to  Virginia — Opening  of  the  War — Disdain  of 
the  aid  of  colored  men— Defeat— Progress  of  the  War — Em 
ploying  colored  men — Emancipation  Proclamation— Celebra 
tion — Patriotism  of  Colored  Soldiers — Bravery  at  Port  Hudson 
— Close  of  the  War — Death  of  Lincoln — A  'tribute  to  Senator 
Sumner—  Passage  of  the  Civil  Rights  Bill— Our  Standard 
Bearers. 

||OR  many  years,  while  slavery  existed,  I  have 
never  ceased  to  pray  that  God,  in  his  all  wise 
providence  would  bring  it  to  pass  that  I 
might  return  to  the  land  that  gave  me  birth,  and  see 
my  former  friends.  As  the  signs  of  the  times  looked 
dark  and  doubtful,  I  began  to  think  I  should  never 
realize  such  a  blessing;  but  time  passed  on,  and  with 
it  the  rebellion  increased  in  strength,  war  rumors  were 
afloat,  and  the  very  air  seemed  to  bespeak  war.  God 
gave  us  war  signs  which  spoke  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  Some  said  in  case  of  a  war  between  the  North 
and  South,  that  it  would  result  in  the  liberation  of  the 
slave.  I  said  it  would  be  too  good  a  blessing  to  be  true, 
not  dreaming  that  such  a  course  would  lead  to  it;  not 
knowing  which  way  the  scales  would  turn.  We  all 
know  the  immediate  cause  of  the  rebellion.  The  North 


78  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

and  South  were  at  length  arrayed  against  each  other 
in  two  great  political  parties  on  the  question  of  slavery. 
The  Northern  party  triumphed,  and  though  no  unlaw 
ful  act  was  charged  against  it,  and  no  simulated  claim 
or  assumption  offered  that  it  had  not  succeeded  in  a 
lawful  and  constitutional  way,  the  defeated  Southern 
party  refused  to  accept  the  decision  of  the  ballot  box, 
and  rushing  into  open  revolt  proceeded  to  organize  a 
government  of  its  own.  Not  being  satisfied  in  what 
they  already  possessed  they  craved  for  more  territory, 
and  fired  on  Fort  Sumpter  for  that  purpose  in  the 
spring  of  1861,  little  dreaming  that  they  themselves 
were  destroying  their  beloved  institution. 

The  first  sound  of  the  cannon  that  saluted  the  ears 
of  Major  Anderson,  and  his  starving  garrison,  was  the 
death  knell  of  slavery.  The  heart  of  the  nation  beat 
in  unison  ;  every  telegraph  wire  vibrated  with  the  news, 
u  Sumpter  has  fallen."  The  news  spread  like  the  flash 
of  lightning  through  the  country  ;  it  united  the  people 
and  aroused  the  nation  to  a  sense  of  its  duty;  the 
proud  sons  of  America  responded  as  one  to  the  call  of 
their  country.  It  was  then  this  war  began  in  which 
we  have  all  had  to  take  our  part.  When  President 
Lincoln  called  for  men  to  defend  the  country,  the  call 
was  for  white  men.  Our  martyred  President,  proud  in 
the  strength  of  his  high  position  said,  "  the  Union  must 
be  saved  with  slavery,  if  it  can,  without  it,  if  it  must." 
Did  he  forget  that  at  the  great  wheel  of  state  there  was 
a  guiding  hand,  stronger  and  mightier,  and  more  just 
than  his.  Truly,  "God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

At  the    beginning  of   the  war,  few  anticipated    the 


THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION.  79 

great  and  important  changes  so  soon  to  be  wrought  by 
it.     To  the  observing  eye,  the  hand  of  God  has  been 
seen  in  the  war;   seen  in  the  overthrow  of  the  proud, 
and  uplifting  of  the  lowly;   seen  in  the  fall  of  the  task 
master  and    the    emancipation    of  the    slave.       Many 
fought  for  the  liberation  of  the  colored  man,  although 
they  hated  him.     How   well  do  I  remember  the  time 
when  our  Northern  army  undertook  to  go  into  battle 
at  Bui)   Run.     The    Northerners,  corrupted  by  unex 
ampled  prosperity,  and  forgetful  of   the  traditions  of 
their    forefathers,  the   vital    and    animating  principles 
underlying  the    very    foundation  of   this  government, 
severed   their  course    from  the    cause  of  liberty    and 
every    hope    by    which    the    black    man     might     take 
courage,    proclaiming    it  to  be    the    white    man's  war 
exclusively.       The  Northerners,  eager    for    glory   and 
greedy  for  honor  in  that  eventful  hour   disdained  the 
proffered  service  of  the  colored  man,  and  would  not 
even  permit    him  to  drive  a  wagon  in  train  of   their 
army;  and  even    more,  would  not  allow  him   to  wear 
the  cast-off  clothing  of  their  soldiers  for  fear  the  im 
perial  blue  of  this  great  republic  would  be  dishonored 
by  them,  and  perverted  from  a  sacred  purpose. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  Northern  troops,  filled 
with  pride  and  hautiness,  promptly  responding  to  the 
call,  "  On  to  Richmond,"  moved  in  military  order  to 
plant  their  standard  on  the  walls  of  Richmond.  Not  a 
military  instrument  of  music,  or  drum  cheered  the 
march  ;  the  deep  silence  broken  only  by  the  muffled 
tread  of  the  advancing  host,  or  the  heavy  rumbling  of 
the  artillery  carriages.  On  their  inarch  they  were  con 
fronted  at  Bull  Run  by  an  army  animated  by  a  sterner 


80  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

and  more  determined  will.  The  rising  sun  of  the  ever 
memorable  2ist  of  July,  1861,  beheld  the  Union  troops 
in  "  war's  bright  and  stern  array  ;"  their  polished  arms 
shone  in  the  morning's  light,  and  their  silken  banners 
glittering  in  the  sun.  The  long  line  of  bayonets  flash 
ing  in  the  sunbeams,  extended  rows  of  army  wagons 
with  their  white  tops,  winding  columns  of  cavalry,  the 
dark  looking  ambulances,  all  combined  to  form  a  scene 
of  thrilling  interest,  and  presented  a  magnificent  spec 
tacle. 

But  the  parting  rays  of  that  same  sun  looked  down 
on  defeated,  routed  and  disgraced  men  ;  their  bright 
arms  thrown  away,  and  their  silken  banners  were  taken 
by  the  exulting  Rebels  as  trophies  of  war.  or  trailed  in 
the  dust.  Then,  forgetful  of  all  their  proud  boastings, 
our  Northern  troops  made  a  hasty  retreat  towards 
Washington.  The  panic  was  disgraceful  in  the  ex 
treme;  for  miles  the  road  was  black  with  men  running 
in  all  directions.  Hosts  of  Federal  troops,  some  sepa 
rated  from  their  regiments,  were  fleeing  along  the  road 
and  through  the  fields,  all  mingled  in  one  disorderly 
route.  Horses  galloped  at  random,  riderless  from  the 
battle-field,  many  of  them  in  the  agonies  of  death 
swelling  the  wild  commotion.  Then  the  heavy  artil 
lery,  such  as  was  not  destroyed,  came  thundering  along 
overturning  and  smashing  every  thing  in  its  passage. 
Hacks  conveying  spectators  from  the  battle-field  were 
completely  smashed,  leaving  the  occupants  to  the  mercy 
of  the  way.  Sutler's  teams,  carriages  and  army  wagons 
blockaded  the  passage  way,  and  fell  against  each  other 
amidst  the  dense  cloud  of  dust.  Men  lying  seriously 
wounded  along  the  banks  entreated,  with  raised  hands, 


THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION.  81 

those  on  horse-back  to  lift  them  further  back,  so  they 
might  not  be  trod  on. 

The  Northern  troops,  in  this  celebrated  race  of 
twenty-five  miles,  with  forty  thousand  entries,  was 
made  without  stopping  ;  for  the  goal  was  Washington, 
and  the  prize  safety.  Though  taxed  to  their  utmost, 
it  is  sorrowful  to  reflect  that  all  this  haste  and  endur 
ance  were  needlessly  expended.  We  have  the  facts  in 
history  that  the  Southerners  did  not  pursue  the  Union 
army,  and  they  did  not  find  out  the  mistake  till  after 
the  flight.  This  lesson  was  terrible  to  the  Noith,  but 
it  was  not  sufficient  to  teach  them  to  do  justice  to  the 
down-trodden  of  my  people  ;  and,  still  relying  on  their 
superior  numbers  and  almost  boundless  resources,  the 
government  called  for  three  hundred  thousand  more 
men. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  whole  North,  humbled 
by  defeat,  and  eager  to  revenge  the  Rebels,  sprang  to 
arms.  Soon  there  was  a  gathering  of  the  clans  from 
the  rivers  to  the  lakes,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean. 
Geo.  B.  McClellan,  of  the  West,  led  a  mighty  host 
towards  Richmond,  and  by  a  new  route.  The  earth 
shook  beneath  the  tread  of  his  army,  and  the  ocean 
was  filled  with  his  iron-clad  war  ships.  Being  chained 
down  by  fate  in  the  pestilential  swamps  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  daring  not  to  strike,  and  unwilling  to  retreat, 
he  permitted  the  golden  moments  to  pass  until  his 
army  was  decimated  by  disease.  The  South  then  took 
fresh  courage,  and  gathered  from  her  broad  dominions 
her  best  and  bravest  sons  and  threw' them,  with  irre 
sistible  force,  upon  his  defeated  army.  Indignant  and 
morose,  our  army  sought  safety  beneath  the  guns  of 
6 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

the  fleet,  otherwise  every  one  of  them  would  have  been 
annihilated. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  of  gloom  and  de 
spondency  that  our  beloved  martyr  President  lifted 
himself  to  the  height  of  his  great  duties  ;  issued  the 
immortal  proclamation  of  emancipation,  proclaiming 
liberty  to  the  oppressed  millions  made  in  the  image  of 
God  ;  severing  the  chains  from  the  limbs  of  hundreds 
of  thousands.  Their  shouts  of  joy  for  new-born  liber 
ty  had  rung  over  distant  hills,  and  through  wooded 
dales. 

I  was  then  keeping  shop  in  Chapman's  Block,  on 
Franklin  Square,  when  the  proclamation  of  freedom 
was  proclaimed  ;  it  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  through  every 
avenue  of  my  soul.  I  exclaimed,  "  Glory  to  God,  peace 
on  earth,  and  good  will  to  men,"  for  the  year  of  jubilee 
has  come  !  His  glorious  Proclamation  of  Emancipa 
tion  will  stamp  the  first  of  January,  1863,  as  the  day  of 
days;  the  great  day  of  jubilee  to  millions.  When  that 
battle  cry  resounded  throughout  the  land,  o'er  river 
and  plains,  o'er  mountains  and  glens,  even  then  the 
government  could  not  entirely  emancipate  itself  from 
the  hateful  spirit  of  caste.  Still  awed  by  the  traditions 
of  the  past,  it  had  not  the  courage  to  say  to  the  freed- 
men:  "We  want  you  to  fight  in  defence  of  the  life  of 
the  nation  ;"  but  they  said:  "  We  want  you  as  laborers, 
and  for  your  better  organization  and  control  we  will 
enroll  you  in  companies,  and  form  you  into  a  regiment, 
and  for  your  protection,  we  will  arm  you." 

It  was  by  this  sneaking,  back-door  arrangement,  that 
they  were  smuggled  surreptitiously  into  the  service  of 
our  country.  It  was  plainly  seen  that  the  American 


THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION.  83 

people,  at  first,  were  unwilling  that  the  colored  man 
should  go  into  the  battle — it  was  "the  white  man's  war, 
and  negroes  had  nothing  to  do  with  it."  When  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Ohio  was  asked  if  he  would 
accept  of  a  colored  company,  he  replied  that  they 
"  did  'nt  want  negroes," — and  for  the  love  to  their  coun 
try  went  to  Massachusetts  and  enlisted,  with  the  prom 
ise  of  the  pitiful  sum  of  seven  dollars  a  month.  And 
not  until  the  Massachusetts  Governor  received  the  col 
ored  man  as  a  soldier  did  the  governors  of  the  other 
Northern  States  think  they  could  condescend  to  give 
the  negro  a  musket  and  a  suit  of  blue.  These  are  facts 
that  can  not  truthfully  be  denied.  It  was  not  the  in 
tention  of  the  government  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
to  free  the  slaves,  but  they  soon  learned  that  men  of 
color  were  made  for  a  nobler  purpose  than  to  be 
"drawers  of  water  and  hewers  of  wood." 

As  a  war  necessity,  the  Americans  bestirred  them 
selves  for  their  protection  ;  they  were  driven  to  take 
measures  that  neither  Clod,  justice  nor  humanity  could 
induce  them  to  adopt,  knowing  that  the  Rebels  armed 
the  slaves  to  fight  against  them,  for  they  saw  that  they 
were  likely  to  be  defeated.  It  has  been  said  that  col 
ored  men  will  not  fight  for  liberty,  but  will  run  at  the 
first  fire.  They  questioned  their  loyalty,  and  distrust 
ed  their  fighting  qualities.  When  we  think  of  the  Bull 
Run  race,  we  have  nothing  to  say  about  running.  Let 
me  direct  your  attention  to  that  brave  fifty-fourth 
Massachusetts  colored  regiment,  who  marched  in  the 
line  of  battle  when  more  than  one-third  of  their  num 
ber  had  fallen,  their  color-bearer  lying  in  the  cold  em 
brace  of  death,  when  a  Mr.  Wall,  of  Oberlin,  grasped 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

the  flag,  mounted  the  parapet  and  waved  over  the 
conquered  enemy  the  stars  and  stripes.  If  that  is  not 
bravery,  I  ask  what  is  ?  Is  it  running?  We  find  them 
running  to  replace  the  flag  of  our  country  in  the  very 
capital  of  the  Rebels,  and  we  as  a  nation  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  this  kind  of  running. 

I  commend  the  daring  and  noble  deeds  of  our  sol 
diers,  and  hand  them  down  to  posterity  as  worthy  of 
imitation,  and  that  they  have  won  for  themselves  a  proud 
position  on  the  pages  of  American  history.  Thanks 
be  to  God  the  colored  men,  as  soldiers,  have  shown  to 
the  world  their  true  patriotism  in  their  valor  and  cour 
age,  and  displayed  as  dauntless  bravery  as  ever  illumi 
nated  a  battle  field.  Thousands  have  fought  and 
died.  They  met  death  calmly,  bravely  defending  the 
cause  that  we  revere.  The  world  has  looked  on  with 
admiration  and  wonder  at  the  boldness  and  daring  of 
their  victorious  host,  for  they  have  contributed  largely 
towards  some  of  its  splendid  victories.  They  have 
come  forward  by  thousands,  and  rallied  around  the  so 
called  "  banner  of  the  free,"  hoping  that  by  preserving 
it  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy  to  make  our  dear  be 
loved  country  free — what  she  has  so  long  been  called 
in  song  and  story  :  "  The  land  of  the  free  and  the  home 
of  the  brave," — after  two  hundred  years  or  more  of  op 
pression  and  injustice,  and  having  not  only  their  rights 
as  citizens,  but  their  manhood  ignored  ;  and,  besides,  a 
thousand  other  wrongs  calculated  to  kill  the  patriotism 
in  any  other  than  a  black  man. 

An  incident  of  bravery  of  the  colored  troops  at 
Port  Hudson,  I  am  about  to  relate,  sends  a  thrill 
through  every  avenue  of  my  soul.  I  wish  it  could  be 


THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION.  85 

burned  into  our  hearts  with  words  of  fire,  so  that  no 
tongue  would  henceforth  dare  to  utter  or  repeat  the 
old  slander  that  "  black  men  will  not  fight  for  free 
dom."  Let  the  vaunted  Anglo-Saxon  stand  back 
abashed  before  this  sublime  exhibition. 

In  1863  the  Fifty  Second  Regiment  Massachusetts 
Colored  Volunteers  were  ordered  to  charge  the  enemy's 
works,  and  did  it  magnificently.  Just  before  they 
reached  the  forts  they  came  to  a  ditch  thirty  feet  wide 
and  ten  feet  deep,  full  of  water,  which  was  absolutely 
impassable ;  they  were  ordered  forward  again ;  they 
could  only  do  and  die,  yet  on,  right  on  they  went  to 
the  hopeless  charge  ;  into  the  storm  of  grape  and  mus 
ket  balls  ;  on,  with  no  chance  of  doing  any  thing  but  to 
die  like  brave  men  ;  on,  where  their  white  officers  dare 
not  to  lead,  till  nearly  half  their  number  were  dead  or 
dying.  Five  times  more  they  charged  up  to  this  ba 
you,  when  they  were  withdrawn. 

When  I  think  of  these  torn  and  bleeding  veterans  as 
they  wended  their  way  to  the  hospital,  it  seems  too 
horrible  to  relate.  Nevertheless  it  is  so,  for  I  have  the 
facts.  I  can  hardly  speak  of  it  but  with  many  tears. 
Bless  God  that  they  have  shown  themselves  worthy  to 
be  free,  and  entitled  to  all  the  inalienable  rights,  among 
which  are  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ;" 
having  won  the  rights  for  all  their  posterity,  without 
having  them  infringed  upon,  for  they  are  blood-bought 
rights.  Can  a  people  into  whose  hands  arms  have  been 
placed,  and  who  have  been  drilled  in  the  art  and 
science  of  war,  become  again  slaves  ?  And  can  this  na 
tion,  that  has  advanced  so  rapidly  in  the  cause  of  free 
dom,  go  backwards  so  much  as  to  re-enslave  a  people 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

that  have  assisted  in  fighting  its  battles  ?  Forbid  it, 
justice  !  forbid  it,  humanity  !  forbid  it,  'ye  spirits  of  our 
fathers,  still  hovering  over  us  !  forbid  it,  our  Country  ! 
forbid  it,  Heaven ! 

In  the  spring  of  1865  the  war  closed;  then  the  lov 
ers  of  the  Union,  and  freedom,  were  giving  thanks  to 
God  for  recent  victories  they  had  gained,  and  rejoiced 
that  right  and  justice  had  triumphed  over  wrong.  City 
after  city  fell,  until  Richmond  itself  was  surrendered 
to  a  band  of  colored  warriors. 

There  are  times  when  the  human  heart  is  so  over 
whelmed  with  joy  and  gratitude,  with  thanksgiving  and 
praise,  that  words  seem  meaningless,  and  language  fails 
to  convey  the  deep  emotion  felt.  Words  were  inade 
quate  to  convey  the  joy  unspeakable,  and  almost  full 
of  glory,  that  the  lovers  of  the  Union  felt  at  that  hour 
of  triumph.  Great  were  the  rejoicings  over  the  fall  of 
Richmond;  beautiful  were  the  displays  made  in  all 
the  places,  far  and  near.  Flags  were  thrown  out  to  the 
breeze,  bells  resounded,  bonfires,  illuminations;  the 
rocket's  red  glare,  and  the  cannon  boomed  forth  its 
peals  of  thunder.  The  innumerable  lights  which  flash 
ed  forth  their  brilliancy  threw  into  magnificent  relief 
the  gorgeous  decorations  of  the  buildings.  Crowds  of 
human  beings  of  all  sexes,  nationalities  and  colors  as 
sembled  in  the  streets ;  they  were  wild  with  excite 
ment  ;  they  were  crazy  with  joy  ;  enthusiasm  cannot 
describe  it.  Men  hugged  each  other,  struck  one  anoth 
er,  yelled  and  screamed  like  wild  men. 

Peace,  with  its  snowy  wings,  seemed  to  be  hovering 
in  the  air,  ready  to  shed  its  blessings  on  the  distracted 
and  blood-drenched  country.  Richmond,  for  four  long 


THE    WAR'  OF    THE    REBELLION.  87 

years  of  blood  and  tears,  of  fire  and  sword,  was  at  last 
convulsed  in  its  last  death-throe.  Events  of  magnitude 
crowded  upon  us  in  such  rapidity  that  before  we  could 
duly  digest  the  one,  another  of  more  startling  import 
ance  rushed  in  and  pushed  it  aside.  Before  we  had 
half  thought  out  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  then 
came  the  sudden  news  of  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee, 
and  the  Confederate  army  of  Virginia. 

But  ah  !  our  day  of  rejoicing  had  scarcely  passed 
when  the  same  wires  that  brought  the  tidings  of  the 
surrender  of  Lee,  brought  the  sad  intelligence  that  our 
beloved  President  was  dead — fallen  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin !  Oh,  what  a  shock  to  the  American  people. 
Our  rejoicing  was  turned  into  mourning:  the  whole 
country  was  draped  in  mourning;  every  eye  was  dim 
med  with  tears.  Pen  can  not  begin  to  describe  the  sad 
ness ;  deeply  the  people  felt  the  loss  of  one  whom  they 
loved  as  a  father.  The  American  Nation  has  lost  a 
pure  patriot;  humanity  a  tried  friend  ;  freedom  a  great 
champion.  He  was  stricken  down  at  the  time  when 
his  great  wisdom  was  so  much  needed  in  bringing  his 
distracted  and  blood-drenched  country  into  the  harbor 
of  returning  peace  and  prosperity.  His  course,  from 
the  time  of  his  inauguration,  had  been  marked  with  wis 
dom  and  justice;  his  manner  had  been  unfaltering; 
his  feelings  could  be  touched  by  all  classes  of  the  na 
tion,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest — an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  God  in  avenging  and  redressing  the 
wrongs  of  years,  and  the  emancipator  of  my  heretofore 
enslaved  brethren  of  the  South.  None  were  afraid  to 
approach  his  Excellency,  and  justice  was  always  meted 
out,  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  required.  It  was 


88  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

my  desire  that  he  might  have  witnessed  the  end  of  the 
beginning  ;  but,  as  Moses,  he  viewed,  but  was  not  per 
mitted  by  Divine  Providence  to  reach  the  end  of  the 
beginning,  which  began  to  loom  up  with  such  splendor. 
The  position  he  placed  us  in,  as  a  people,  causes  us  to 
feel  as  did  the  children  of  Israel  when  they  passed 
through  the  Red  Sea,  and  were  freed  from  the  hand  of 
Pharaoh  and  his  pursuing  host.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
has  gone  but  a  step  before  us,  but  ever  memorable  will 
be  his  name  in  the  hearts  of  the  loyal  millions. 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

We  also  pay  tribute  to  the  late  Senator  Sumner,  that 
in  his  death,  we,  and  the  friends  of  freedom  everywhere 
have  lost  a  sincere  and  earnest  friend,  an  able  and  un 
tiring  philanthropist  and  statesman  ;  the  principle  of 
freedom  he  strove  so  earnestly  to  inculcate  into  the 
minds  of  all,  irrespective  of  complexion.  It  was  his 
last  and  most  deeply  cherished  wish  to  lift  up  the  col 
ored  race  to  the  plane  of  perfect  equality.  "  See  to  the 
Civil  Rights  Bill,  don  't  let  it  fail,"  were  among  his  last 
utterances  to  his  colleague,  who  stood  beside  the  dying 
Senator.  Probably  at  no  period  of  his  life  did  he  more 
forcibly  illustrate  his  perseverance,  his  energy,  his  zeal 
and  eloquence  than  in  the  many  efforts  he  made  to 
pass  this  bill.  That  bill  was  the  great  work  which  was 
to  crown  his  labors.  We  never  can  express  the  senti 
ments  of  gratitude  which  his  name  awakens  in  the 
breast  of  every  colored  American.  In  defending  the 
rights  of  my  people  by  the  most  generous  sentiments 
of  his  aspiring  nature,  by  his  sincere  love  of  justice,  he 
has  acquired  an  immortal  title  to  all  their  descendants. 
The  Civil  Rights  Bill,  passed  April  pth,  1866. 


THK    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION. 


89 


OUR    STANDARD    BEARERS. 

Thomas  Garrett,  James  and  Lucretia  Mott,  Francis 
Jackson,  Wendell  Phillips,  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
Henry  C.  Wright,  Owen  Lovejoy,  Lydia  Maria  Childs, 
Abby  Kelly  Foster,  the  Phelpses,  Samuel  Budgett,  and 
many  others,  by  their  pen  and  voice  poured  floods  of 
light  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  public,  through 
evil  as  well  as  through  good  report,  until  they  have  cre 
ated  unto  God,  and  developed  that  moral  and  religious 
influence  which  has  always  accomplished  that  to  which 
they  consecrated  themselves,  and  for  which  they  strove 
with  a  devotion  as  constant  as  truth,  and  with  an  in 
dustry  and  zeal  as  unwavering  as  justice,  and  with  a 
fidelity  as  pure  as  their  cause  was  patriotic  and  sacred. 
Let  them,  and  many  others  shine  as  stars,  for  they  were 
as  beacon  lights  for  freedom.  They  spoke  when 
speech  cost  something;  their  greeting  was  the  violence 
of  the  mob,  and  their  baptism  fire  and  blood.  They 
did  not  "  count  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves."  The 
sufferings  and  death  of  Torrey  Lovejoy  and  John 
Brown,  has  sent  a  thrill  through  the  hearts  of  the  na 
tion,  for  they  possessed  a  self-sacrificing  spirit.  Let 
their  names  be  written  as  with  a  diamond  ;  let  the  his 
torian  stamp  them  with  letters  of  fire  upon  tablets  of 
gold;  let  the  poet  sing  them  in  sweet  strains;  let  the 
scholar,  with  the  graces  of  literature,  embalm  them  ;  let 
the  great  of  humanity  enshrine  them.  Their  deeds 
can  never  be  effaced,  but  will  exist  as  an  imperishable 
memento,  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  the  people. 


90  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


AFTER  THE  WAR. 

Fear  of  capture  —  A  visit  to  Heathsville — Father  Christmas,  and 
a  children's  festival — Preaching  at  Washington — My  first 
visit  to  my  old  home — Joy  and  rejoicing — Meeting  my  old  mis 
tress — My  old  cabin  home — The  old  spring — Change  of  situa 
tions — The  old  doctor — Improvement  in  the  condition  of  the 
colored  people — Buying  homes — Industry. 

FTER  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  passed, 
terror  struck  the  hearts  of  those  who  had 
escaped  to  the  free  States,  as  no  earthly 
power  could  prevent  them  from  being  returned  to  their 
masters.  Very  many  were  taken  back.  For  my  part, 
I  was  very  much  frightened,  and  was  continually 
haunted  by  dreams  which  were  so  vivid  as  to  appear 
really  true.  One  night  I  dreamt  my  master  had  come 
for  me,  and,  as  he  proved  property,  I  was  delivered  up 
to  him  by  the  United  States  Marshal.  In  the  morning 
I  told  the  dream  to  my  wife.  She  said  she  "  believed 
it  would  come  true,"  and  was  very  much  worried. 

I  went  down  to  my  shop,  and,  in  the  course  of  the 
morning,  while  looking  out  of  my  window  I  noticed 
a  number  of  persons  who  had  just  come  in  on  the  train, 
and  among  them  I  was  sure  I  saw  my  master.  You 


AFTER    THE    WAR.  91 

may  rest  assured  I  was  pretty  well  frightened  out  of  my 
wits.  What  to  do  I  did  not  know.  This  man  did 
certainly  walk  like  him,  had  whiskers  like  him  ;  in  fact 
his  whole  general  appearance  resembled  his  so  much 
that  I  was  sure  that  he  had  been  put  on  my  track.  I 
peeped  out  at  him  as  he  passed  my  door  and  saw  him 
go  up  the  steps  leading  to  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  Mar 
shal,  then  I  was  sure  he  had  come  for  me.  I  could  do 
no  more  work  that  day. 

As  my  friends  came  in  I  told  them  of  what  I  had 
seen,  my  fears,  etc.  ;  and  they  assured  me  they  would 
be  on  the  look-out  and  see  if  such  a  man  was  in  town, 
find  out  his  errand,  etc.  Accordingly  one  of  them  who 
was  a  town  crier,  Dunton  by  name,  went  to  the  hotels 
and  searched  the  registers  to  see  if  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Lackey  was  registered  there.  At  night  he 
reported  that  no  such  name  could  be  found.  My 
friends  declared  that  I  should  not  leave  this  town. 
One  even  went  so  far  as  to  go  to  the  U.  S.  Marshal 
and  ask  if  "  any  one  should  come,  looking  forme,  what 
he  would  do;  would  he  give  me  up?"  He  replied: 
"  No,  he  'd  resign  his  position  first."  Another  bought 
a  revolver,  and  told  me  that  "if  they  had  me  up  that, 
by  some  means,  he  would  manage  it  so  as  to  get  it  into 
my  hands  that  I  might  in  some  way  defend  myself." 
I  had  determined  never  to  be  taken  back  alive.  Death 
was  preferable  to  slavery,  now  that  I  had  tasted  the 
sweets  of  liberty.  As  it  was,  dreams  of  this  kind 
ceased  to  trouble  me,  and  the  effects  and  fear  wore  off. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
that  a  man  who  is  living  in  Norwich  to-day,  told  me 
that  after  I  left  the  South,  and  had  settled  here,  he 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

went  to  Heathsville,  to  the  very  place  where  I  used  to 
live,  saw  my  master,  who  asked  him  whether,  in  his 
travels  North,  he  had  ever  come  across  a  man  who  was 
lame,  shoemaker  by  trade;  that  he  would  give  him  two 
hundred  dollars,  cash,  for  any  information  which  would 
lead  to  his  discovery.  He  returned  home,  said  noth 
ing  whatever  to  me,  for  fear  I  would  be  alarmed,  sell 
out  and  leave  the  place  ;  said  nothing  to  any  one  about 
it  till  after  January  ist,  1863,  when  freedom  was  pro 
claimed  throughout  the  land. 

During  one  ot  my  visits  to  Heathsville,  on  which  I 
always  carried  a  large  stock  of  clothing,  shoes,  etc.,  I 
formed  a  plan  for  some  amusement  among  the  young 
people.  On  Sunday  it  was  announced  that  on  a  cer 
tain  evening  during  the  week  there  would  be  a  Christ 
mas  tree.  All  were  invited  to  come  ;  accordingly  when 
the  time  arrived,  the  church  was  packed  ;  many  came 
from  miles  away.  I  selected  a  young  man  who  I  in 
tended  should  represent  Father  Christmas,  as  he  is 
called  there.  I  put  on  him  a  long  swallow  tail  coat, 
the  ends  of  which  almost  touched  the  floor,  then  he 
was  filled  out  so  as  to  be  very  large  ;  he  had  on  an  ex 
tremely  sharp  pointed  collar,  which  extended  far  out 
from  his  face,  which  was  hidden  behind  a  mask.  I 
opened  with  an  address,  and  at  a  given  signal,  Father 
Christmas  made  his  first  appearance.  Many  of  the 
children,  even  some  of  the  old  people  were  frightened 
nearly  out  of  their  wits  ;  one  child  ran  forward,  crying 
to  his  Uncle  John  to  save  him  ;  some  fell  over  each 
other  to  get  out  of  the  way.  Well,  I  laughed  till  I 
could  laugh  no  longer,  and  finally  I  was  obliged  to  dis 
pense  with  Father  Christmas  before  anything  like  order 


AFTER    THE    WAR.  .  93 

could  be  obtained.  Then  the  different  articles  were 
distributed,  and  if  you  could  have  heard  the  many 
prayers  that  went  up  from  thankful  hearts  for  the  gifts 
received,  no  one  would  tire  of  this  good  work.  General 
satisfaction  reigned,  and  after  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving 
they  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

January,  1867,  I  was  called  to  visit  Washington,  to 
see  about  a  school  for  my  daughter.  While  there  I 
was  invited  by  the  pastor  of  Israel  Church  to  preach 
on  the  Sabbath.  At  the  close  of  the  service  many  of 
my  former  friends  came  forward  to  greet  me,  and  in 
formed  me  of  the  old  plantation  where  my  brother  and 
two  sisters  still  resided.  I  immediately  wrote  to  my 
brother  to  let  him  know  that  I  was  still  alive,  and  that 
I  should  visit  Heathsville  at  such  a  time,  and  asked 
him  if  "he  thought  there  would  be  any  danger  in  com 
ing."  He  informed  me  that  '"  there  was  no  danger,  for 
Virginia  was  free."  When  he  received  the  letter  it 
seemed  as  from  one  risen  from  the  dead.  My  sister 
took  the  letter  and  went  round  amongst  her  friends, 
wild  with  joy. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  I  made  preparations  to  start 
on  my  long-premeditated  journey,  in  the  middle  of 
June,  1867.  I  went  by  way  of  Washington.  As  I  was 
proceeding  down  the  old  Potomac  River  her  red  banks 
looked  natural  to  me,  so  much  so  that  I  could  hardly 
suppress  the  feeling  of  joy  which  arose  in  my  heart. 
That  night  the  boat  stopped  about  forty  miles  from 
Heathsville.  The  next  morning,  about  light,  I  went 
ashore,  as  I  was  very  anxious  to  tread  once  more  on  the 
old  Virginia  soil.  Very  soon  the  bell  rang  for  the  boat 
to  start;  I  hastened  on  board  again.  By  this  time  she 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

had  got  underway,  arid  I  reached  Cone  Wharf  at  six 
o'clock — the  very  spot  from  where  1  started  thirty 
years  before.  It  seemed  to  me  more  like  a  dream  than  a 
reality.  No  one  can  imagine  how  I  felt;  I  could  not 
believe  that  it  was  possible  that  I  was  going  home  to 
tread  on  free  soil.  I  asked  myself  the  question  :  "  Can 
it  be  possible  that  Virginia  is  free  ?"  I  looked  ashore 
before  the  boat  reached  the  landing,  and  saw  those  old 
ex-slave-holders  standing  on  the  dock,  which  sent  a 
thrill  all  over  me.  But  soon  the  boat  rounded  up  to 
the  dock,  and  as  soon  as  the  gang-plank  was  put  out 
there  were  some  white  young  men  who  came  aboard 
and  stepped  up  to  the  bar  and  began  drinking.  A  col 
ored  man,  also,  went  up  to  get  something  to  drink. 
There  was  a  row  that  commenced  with  the  white  men 
and  the  colored  man,  and  came  very  near  ending  in  a 
nght.  Here  I  saw  the  old  spirit  of  slavery  exhibited 
by  the  whites.  This  somewhat  increased  my  fears;  but 
quiet  was  soon  restored,  and  I  stepped  ashore  almost 
on  the  same  spot  where  I  was  thirty  years  before. 

Things  looked  changed  somewhat  since  I  left,  but 
after  awhile  I  came  to  myself  and  found  that  I  was 
really  home  again,  unmolested  where  I  was  once  a 
slave,  and  my  joy  knew  no  bounds.  I  was  soon  dis 
covered  by  some  of  my  friends,  and  we  congratulated 
one  another  like  old  friends,  for  I  seemed  to  them  like 
one  risen  from  the  grave.  I  felt  as  though  I  wanted  to 
get  down  and  kiss  the  free  ground  upon  which  I  stood. 
I  could  hardly  restrain  ray  feelings,  for  it  was  a  new 
day  with  me.  This  visit  was  fraught  with  many  sad 
reminiscences  of  the  past. 

After  looking   about  and  seeing  the  many  changes 


AFTER    THE    WAR.  J)5 

that  had  been  wrought  in  thirty  years,  I  was  taken  by 
my  friends  and  conveyed  to  rny  brother's  house.  On 
my  way,  I  came  to  the  old  mill,  gray  with  age,  where  1 
used  to  work.  In  the  mill  was  a  little  room  partition 
ed  off  where  I  had  in  former  days  done  shoe-making. 
We  stopped,  and  I  went  into  the  little  room  and  saw 
where  my  bench  used  to  stand,  and  the  old,  quaint  fire 
place  where  I  used  to  make  my  fire.  While  I  was  there 
I  remembered  the  joys  and  sorrows  that  I  had  passed 
through  during  the  time  I  occupied  that  room.  I  then 
went  to  look  for  the  old  spring  where  I  used  to  get 
water;  I  found  it  and  knelt  down  by  the  side  of  it 
and  drank  therefrom.  No  language  could  express  my 
feelings  while  I  knelt  over  that  spring.  I  then  arose 
and  continued  my  journey  till  I  came  to  a  cross-path, 
which  I  traveled  in  my  former  days.  I  asked  the  driv 
er  if  "  he  would  halt  and  let  me  get  out  of  the  wagon," 
and  told  him  that  "  he  could  drive  around  and  I  would 
go  across."  As  I  viewed  the  place,  old  scenes  seemed 
so  natural  to  me  that  I  could  not  help  praising  (rod  in 
the  highest  for  bringing  me  back  to  the  place  of  my 
birth.  I  waited  a  few  minutes,  and  then  proceeded  on. 
We  then  came  to  the  old  Heathsville  spring,  here  I 
got  out  also  and  stooped  to  drink.  We  then  came  to 
the  village  of  Heathsville,  and  as  soon  as  I  entered  it, 
I  was  recognized  by  old  friends  who  knew  me  in  for 
mer  days.  I  alighted  from  the  wagon  and  we  clasped 
each  other,  and  a  full  tide  of  joy  rushed  over  our  souls. 
Here  I  found  my  brother's  wife,  he  having  been  sold 
years  before.  After  looking  around  at  the  different 
places  where  1  had  lived,  and  the  different  shops  where 
I  had  worked,  I  started  for  my  brother's  house,  located 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

about  two  miles  out  of  the  village  of  Heathsville. 
When  I  was  within  half-a-mile  of  his  house,  I  met  my 
brother  coming  out  of  the  house  of  a  friend,  and  as 
soon  as  I  saw  him  I  knew  him,  although  I  had  not  seen 
him  for  years. 

Dear  reader,  you  should  have  been  there  in  order  to 
have  realized  the  scene  of  our  meeting.  We  got  hold 
of  each  other  and  put  our  arms  around  each  other's 
neck  without  speaking  for  some  minutes  ;  the  silence 
was  broken,  and  I  exclaimed  :  "  Dear  brother,  is  it  pos 
sible  that  we  are  standing  on  Virginia's  free  soil,  and 
we  are  free  ?  "  My  brother  replied,  "  yes,  dear  brother, 
and  you  too  have  been  living  in  the  '  land  of  the  free 
and  the  home  of  the  brave.'  '  We  wept  and  rejoiced, 
and  praised  God  for  his  goodness  in  bringing  us  to 
gether  once  more  on  free  soil.  For  a  short  time  all 
was  excitement  and  confusion.  When  it  had  subsided 
we  started  for  the  house,  where  I  met  my  eldest  sister. 
She  pressed  eagerly  forward  to  greet  me,  and  we  seem 
ed  to  each  other  as  one  risen  from  the  dead.  WTe,  too, 
fell  on  each  other's  neck  and  clasped  each  other  and 
wept.  News  spread  like  wild-fire  that  Lindsey  Payne 
(for  that  was  my  name  before  I  escaped  from  slavery,) 
had  returned  home  again.  Many  of  my  old  friends 
who  once  knew  rne,  came  flocking  in  to  see  me.  My 
listeners  were  never  weary,  as  I  related  to  them  the 
history  of  my  life  at  the  North,  and  described  the  vari 
ed  scenes  through  which  I  had  passed.  My  joy  and  ex 
citement  rose  to  such  a  height,  that  I  scarcely  knew 
whether  I  was  in  the  body  or  out. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  down  to  the  "  great  house," 
so-called   in   the  days   of  slavery,   where     Mrs.    Sarah 


AFTER    THE    WAR.  97 

Winsted  lived,  who  was  formerly  my  mistress.  She 
was  the  second  wife  of  my  former  master,  Mr.  Langs- 
don.  She  survived  him,  and  afterwards  married  a  Mr. 
Winsted,  who  died  before  her.  When  I  got  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  the  house  she  saw  me  coming, 
and  knew  me.  It  being  warm  weather  she  threw  on 
her  sun  bonnet  and  came  to  meet  me,  and  was  so  glad 
that  she  wept  and  grasped  my  hand  fora  minute  before 
either  spoke.  At  last  she  broke  the  silence  by  saying  : 
"  Oh  !  Lindsey,  is  this  you  ?"  I  replied  :  u  This  is 
me,  what  there  is  left  of  me."  Says  Mrs.  Winsted  : 
"  Let  us  go  to  the  house."  Mrs.  Winsted  then  intro 
duced  me  to  her  daughter,  who  had  been  born  since  I 
left,  and  then  set  the  table  and  would  have  me  take 
dinner  with  her.  Although  I  had  ate  dinner,  I  accepted 
her  cordial  invitation  as  an  appreciation  of  her  kind 
ness. 

After  dinner  she  told  me  "  to  relate  to  her  the  nar 
rative  of  my  escape  from  slavery  ;  how  I  got  away,  and 
how  the  Yankees  had  treated  me  since  I  had  been  up 
amongst  them  ?"  I  set  my  chair  back,  and  told  her 
the  whole  story  of  my  escape.  When  I  told  her  how 
frightened  I  was  by  seeing  the  cars,  and  thought  the 
engine  was  the  devil  coming  after  me,  she  really  did 
shake  with  laughter.  I  also  informed  her  of  our  sail 
up  the  Chesapeake  Bay  in  a  small  boat,  and  how  we 
were  overtaken  by  the  storm  of  wind  and  came  very 
near  being  lost,  but  we  reached  the  land  of  freedom  in 
safety ;  that  the  Northern  people  had  treated  me  com 
paratively  well ;  and  that  I  had  bought  me  a  comfort 
able  home.  She  seemed  to  be  very  much  pleased  with 


98  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

my  recital.     I  gave  her  a  nice  pair  of  shoes,  for  which 
she  was  very  thankful. 

While  on  this  visit  I  saw  a  great  many  places  of  my 
childhood  among  them  were  Hog  Point,  where  I  spent 
many  of  my  boyhood  days  ;  and,  also,  the  very  spot 
where  I  was  made  lame.  I  saw  the  old  oak  tree  that 
stood  near  my  mother's  cabin  home,  which  I  have 
mentioned  in  the  first  part  of  this  work,  on  a  limb  of 
which  Mr.  Haney  hung  one  of  his  slaves,  and  whipped 
him  till  the  ground  beneath  him  was  stained  with  his 
blood.  I  tried  to  find  the  same  limb,  but  although  the 
tree  appeared  to  be  in  perfect  health  and  strength,  that 
limb  seemed  to  have  withered  and  dropped  off.  While 
I  was  meditating  under  this  tree,  many  scenes  of  my 
boyhood  came  vividly  to  my  recollection.  I  then 
searched  for  my  mother's  cabin  home,  but  no  humble 
cabin,  like  the  one  in  my  memory,  met  my  eye;  it  had 
given  place  to  a  dense  pine  forest.  The  logs  of  the 
cabin  had  either  been  burned,  or  rotted  with  the  dust 
of  the  earth.  All  was  desolate  in  the  extreme.  I  call 
ed,  but  there  was  no  response ;  no  voice  of  a  kind 
mother  greeted  my  ear;  no  welcome  of  the  eleven 
brothers  and  sisters  greeted  my  approach;  all  was 
speechless  as  the  grave.  Nothing  occupied  that  sacred 
spot  but  the  reptile  and  the  owl  As  I  gazed  and 
thought,  I  became  faint  and  sorrowful.  I  turned  from 
here  in  pursuit  of  the  spring  from  which  I  had  carried 
so  many  buckets  of  water.  After  much  search  and 
labor,  crawling  through  the  bushes  and  fallen  trees,  I 
found  the  old  spring  and  drank  therefrom.  The  old 
gum  tree  that  was  near  this  spring  in  my  childhood 
days,  I  found  there  still,  being  bent  with  age  ;  its 


I 


AFTER    THE    WAR. 


99 


branches  hung  over  this  spring.  It  was  once  noted 
for  its  healing  properties,  the  berries  of  which  were 
used  for  medicinal  purposes. 

These  three  springs  that  I  have  mentioned,  have 
served  to  quench  the  thirst  of  many  a  weary  soldier  as 
he  stooped  to  drink,  at  the  time  of  the  great  rebellion. 
I  knelt,  and  offered  my 'heart  in  prayer  and  thanksgiv 
ing  to  "  God,  who  doeth  all  things  well."  I  thought  how 
often  my  brothers  and  sisters  with  myself,  came  to  and 
from  that  spring;  but  now  we  were  separated,  nearly 
all  of  us,  never  more  to  meet,  till  we  meet  in  that 
heavenly  land  where  father,  mother  and  children  shall 
never  part,  "  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  From  there,  with  a  heavy 
heart,  I  went  in  search  of  our  neighbors  ;  they,  too,  like 
the  cabin,  were  gone ;  they  had  been  committed  to  the 
dust,  and  their  spirits  had  returned  to  "  God, "who  gave 
them."  Their  houses  were  occupied  by  others;  with 
a  sad  heart  I  retraced  my  steps  to  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Winsted,  and  then  to  my  brother's. 

I  spent  three  or  four  weeks  in  Heathsville,  and  while 
I  was  on  this  visit  I  went  a  second  time  to  see  Mrs. 
Winsted,  and  found  her  in  the  garden,  in  the  hot  sun, 
hoeing.  Said  I,  "  is  it  possible  that  you  can  work  out 
in  the  hot  sun  ?"  She  replied,  "  Lindsey,  we  can  do  a 
great  many  things  when  we  are  obliged  to,  that  we 
once  thought  we  could  not  do."  I  saw  the  changes 
that  freedom  had  wrought,  and  I  thought,  u  how  people 
can  accommodate  themselves  to  circumstances."  When 
we  were  on  the  plantation  together  she  would  not 
allow  herself  even  to  walk  out  doors  in  the  hottest  part 
of  the  day,  without  a  servant  to  hold  an  umbrella  over 
her.  « 


100  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

Many  a  man  who  was  very  rich,  has  been  reduced  to 
beggary.  Many  of  those  negro  traders,  who  used  to 
buy  up  a  large  number  of  slaves  and  carry  them  down 
to  the  lower  States  and  sell  them,  have  become  so  poor 
that  they  have  not  clothes  to  hide  their  nakedness. 
They  go  around  among  the  freedmen  and  beg  for  some 
thing  to  eat.  I  know  a  man  who  was  once  very  rich, 
worth  about  half-a-million,  who  has  since  been  reduced 
to  such  poverty  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  hire  him 
self  out  under  the  United  States  service  to  work  on  a 
mud  machine,  as  a  common  day  laborer,  and  is  not  al 
lowed  to  go  and  see  his  family  but  once  in  three 
months,  he  being  in  Norfolk  and  his  family  in  Balti 
more.  Others,  who  were  rich,  are  even  worse  off  than 
he.  This  description  does  not  include  all  the  slave 
holders,  for  those  who  were  kind  and  humane  towards 
their  slaves  are  far  better  off  in  circumstances  than  the 
others.  The  slaves,  as  a  general  thing,  did  not  leave 
them  in  the  time  of  the  war,  but  stayed  with  them  to 
protect  their  property,  while  their  masters  were  on  the 
battle  field.  Those  who  brutalized  their  victims  seem 
to  be  marked  by  the  vengeance  of  the  Almighty  ;  they 
are  wasting  away  like  the  early  dew,  for  many  have 
nowhere  to  lay  their  heads,  except  among  those  whom 
they  have  abused. 

The  colored  people,  unlike  all  other  nations  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  are  ready  to  fulfill  that  passage  of 
Scripture:  "Therefore,  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed 
him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink;  for  in  so  doing  thou 
shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head."  Many  of  them, 
when  bleeding  from  the  effects  of  the  knotted  whips 
applied  by  their  cruel  task  masters,  could  have  risen 


AFTER    THE    WAR. 


101 


and  made  the  land  knee  deep  with  the  blood  of  their 
oppressors,  and  thus  avenged  themselves  of  the  host  of 
cruel  wrongs  which  they  have  suffered;  but,  instead  of 
raising  an  insurrection,  they  calmly  left  the  plantations 
without  injuring  a  hair  of  the  heads  of  their  masters, 
and  went  on  the  Union  side;  and  not  till  the  United 
States  put  arms  into  their  hands,  and  bade  them  go 
forward  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  did  they  at 
tempt  to  show  any  signs  of  revenge. 

During  my  first  visit  I  noticed  that  very  many  of  the 
houses  looked  very  ancient  and  dilapidated.  The  old 
slave  pens,  and  the  whipping  posts,  stood  just  as  they 
were  when  I  left.  The  fertile  soil  which  once  brought 
forth  in  abundance,  and  the  cotton  and  corn,  presented 
an  unbroken  scene  of  barrenness  and  desolation.  The 
place  was  almost  depopulated — plantations  forsaken. 

The  South  has  been  subjected  to  a  fearful  waste  of 
population.  Thousands  of  the  colored  people  during 
the  war,  and  many  thousands  of  whites  also  left,  to  say 
nothing  of  those  who  have  been  killed.  I  only  found 
one  brother  and  two  sisters  living.  Since  that  time  my 
eldest  sister  has  died,  leaving  four  or  five  children, 
three  of  whom  had  been  torn  from  her,  and  sold  into 
slavery,  and  she  never  heard  from  them  again.  She 
was  a  great  sufferer,  owing  to  the  want  of  proper  care, 
and  sorrow  reigned  in  her  inmost  soul.  Finally  the 
Angel  of  Death  came  and  severed  her  from  her  suffer 
ings.  Her  husband  survives  her,  as  I  write,  "  The 
fountains  of  bitter  sorrow  are  stirred  by  the  healing 
branch  that  God  can  cast."  As  soon  as  I  struck  the 
Virginia  wharf,  the  words  of  the  aged  colored  doctor 
came  vividly  to  my  mind,  who  told  me  my  future  des- 


102  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

tiny  :  "  that  in  the  course  of  time  I  would  return  to 
my  native  land."  Sure  enough'  I  had  returned  after 
thirty  years'  absence. 

A  day  or  two  after  I  had  made  my  escape  from  slav 
ery,  Thomas  Langsdon,  supposing  that  the  old  doctor 
was  accessory  to  my  running  away,  fell  on  the  man 
and  beat  him  in  a  brutal  manner,  most  shocking  to  be 
hold.  The  doctor  never  recovered  from  his  injuries; 
being  a  free  man  he  did  not  have  any  one  to  intercede 
for  him.  After  1  had  been  home  a  few  days,  I  inquired 
after  the  doctor,  and  found,  to  my  great  sorrow,  that  he 
had  gone  to  his  long  home,  where  no  foe  nor  hostile 
bands  will  ever  enter  its  peaceful  inclosure.  In  my  re 
peated  visits  to  Heathsville,  I  observed  but  little  im 
provement  since  the  great  rebellion  ;  there  have  been 
but  few  houses  built  for  the  last  thirty  years.  The 
condition  of  the  colored  people  is  improving  very  fast, 
for  many  of  them  are  buying  lands  and  building,  and 
thus  preparing  homes  for  themselves.  Their  condition 
is  much  better  than  those  who  once  owned  them.  The 
old  ex-slave  holders  are  dying  off  very  fast.  As  they 
have  no  one  to  cultivate  their  large  plantations,  and 
can  not  do  it  themselves,  they  are  obliged  to  divide 
them  up  and  sell  them  to  the  freedmen,  as  they  are 
growing  over  with  dense  forests.*  I  think  that  event 
ually,  Virginia  will  be  in  as  flourishing  a  condition  as 
any  section  of  the  United  States. 

The  Northern  people  are  beginning  to  emigrate 
there  The  steam  whistle  from  the  factory  and  saw- 


*  These  pine  trees  had  grown  up  from  the  larger  trees,  (saplings  as  they  are 
called,)  and  reminded  me  of  past  days,  when  we  slaves  had  to  fell  them  for 
fire-wood  for  our  masters.  The  woodlands  were  owned  by  them,  and  nothing 
could  induce  them  to  buy  fuel  to  burn  as  long  as  they  had  slaves  to  labor  in 
felling  trees. 


AFTER    THE    WAR.  103 

mill,  which  serve  for  the  employment  of  many,  is  be 
ginning  to  be  heard  morning,  noon,  and  night.  Things 
begin  to  wear  a  Northern  aspect  considerably.  The 
log-cabin  begins  to  disappear  in  some  places,  giving 
way  to  houses  of  modern  construction.  The  broad 
long  handle  Southern  hoe  is  giving  place  to  a  more 
modern  make.  This  improvement  is  more  or  less  seen, 
except  among  the  class  that  bought  and  sold  human 
flesh,  and  obtained  their  living  from  the  bones 
and  sinews  of  others.  But  how  have  the  ex-slave 
holders — that  is  including  all  of  them  in  the  South — 
treated  the  freed  people  since  the  great  rebellion  of 
1861  ?  The  colored  people  of  the  South  have  suffered 
every  thing,  even  death  itself.  Some  were  violently 
beaten,  or  rudely  scourged;  many  were  deliberately 
shot  down  in  open  day,  on  the  public  streets  ;  others 
were  way-laid  and  cruelly  butchered,  and  some,  God 
only  knows  the  fate  they  have  suffered.  There  has 
been  an  awful  destruction  of  human  life.  The 
streets  have  bee'n  drenched  with  their  blood,  for  it 
has  flown  freely.  Many  worthy  and  willing  hands 
were  left  without  employment,  while  others  worked 
for  a  mere  pittance  to  get  their  living,  while  still  others 
toiled  on  as  formerly,  without  any  agreement  or  prob 
ability  of  due  return.  When  the  civil  rights  bill  was 
passed,  April  gth,  1866,  the  condition  of  the  colored 
people  was  ameliorated  in  many  instances. 

During  the  rebellion  some  were  driven  from  their 
cabins  during  the  absence  of  their  owners,  who  were 
on  the  battle  field.  The  cabins,  many  of  them,  were 
stripped  of  all  their  contents,  leaving  the  occupants 
nothing.  Oh  !  how  many  have  suffered  malice  and  re- 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

venge,  the  bitter  wrath  and  vengeance  of  those  who 
justly  shared  the  disappointments  and  misfortunes  at 
tending  the  overthrow  of  slavery  and  rebellion. 

My  brother  is  doing  well,  and  has  bought  himself  a 
nice  farm,  from  which  he  raises  crops  every  year.  He 
is  a  Baptist  preacher;  and,  besides  presiding  over  his 
own  church,  he  has  the  oversight  of  the  Lancaster 
Baptist  Church,  in  Lancaster  County;  thus  supplying 
two  churches,  the  Northumberland,  and  the  Lancas 
ter  churches.  My  younger  sister,  who  resides  in 
Wycomco,  in  Northumberland  County,  Va.,  has  four 
or  five  children  ;  and,  through  her  and  her  husband's 
industry  have  procured  a  small  farm,  from  which  they 
have  obtained  principally  the  support  of  their  family. 

During  my  repeated  visits  to  Heathsville  I  have  car 
ried  boxes  of  clothing  and  a  large  trunk  closely  packed, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  freedmen  and  their  families. 
The  little  sacks  and  other  children's  clothes  were  pre 
sented  to  mothers  whose  little  children  stood  in  great, 
need  of  them,  and  were  very  thankfully  received. 
"  God  bless  the  friends  of  the  North,"  was  the  hearty 
exclamation  of  many.  I  found  the  colored  people 
industriously  employed  in  doing  something,  and  thus 
they  seemed  contented  and  happy. 

In  December,  1879,  during  my  visit,  I  went  down  to 
Fairfield,  some  five  or  six  miles  from  Heathsville,  where 
I  had  learned  my  trade,  and  found  the  old  place  much 
dilapidated.  The  fields  from  which  were  raised  corn 
and  wheat  were  all  grown  over  with  thick  forests. 
The  "  great  house"  had  been  burned  to  the  ground. 
Mrs.  Winsted  had  passed  from  time  into  eternity  to 
try  the  realities  of  the  other  world.  The  old  shop  that 


AFTER    THE    WAR. 


105 


1  used  to  work  in  had  been  torn  down,  and  desolation 
seemed  to  mark  the  place.  The  foot  of  the  war  horse 
had  been  there.  I  tender  my  thanks  to  the  kind 
friends  of  Norwich  for  their  generous  gifts. 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CONCLUSION. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  Celebration — The  parade — Address — 
Collation — Charles  L.  Remond — Closing  words. 

[ROM  1867  to  1869,  great  changes  were  taking 
place  in  the  government.  Amendments  to 
the  Constitution  were  being  made  ;  among 
them  was  the  fifteenth  amendment.  When  that  was 
passed,  the  colored  Americans  of  Norwich  called  a 
meeting  and  passed  a  resolution  proposing  to  celebrate 
that  great  event.  In  May,  1870,  we  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  arrange  for  the  same.  I  was  appointed  chair 
man  of  that  committee.  A  motion  was  made  to  ex 
tend  a  call  to  the  Hon.  Charles  L.  Remond,  of  Boston, 
to  deliver  the  oration.  The  motion  was  unanimously 
passed  to  that  effect. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  Celebration  took  place  on 
June  1 6th,  1870.  At  early  dawn  the  booming  of  the 
cannon  was  heard  from  some  distant  hill,  that  aroused 
the  participants  to  the  more  arduous  duties  of  the  day. 
The  din  and  smoke  reminded  one  of  the  war,  where 
our  veterans  fought  so  creditably.  The  first  part  of 


CONCLUSION.  107 

the  morning  the  weather  did  not  look  very  favorable 
for  us.  There  was  a  misty  appearance  in  the  air,  but 
as  it  advanced  towards  ten  o'clock  that  hazy  look  wore 
off,  and  the  half-veiled  sun  shone  in  all  its  splendor. 
On  that  eventful  morning  the  committee  of  arrange 
ments  labored  faithfully  to  make  the  affair  a  success, 
for  it  was  a  scene  of  bustling  activity.  Flags  that  bore 
the  national  colors,  and  banners  bearing  mottoes  ap 
propriate  for  the  occasion  were  waving  in  the  breeze. 
Every  effort  was  made  by  some  to  make  it  a  failure, 
but  their  plans  were  frustrated  by  our  eminent  citizens. 
When  undertaking  a  good  project  for  our  fellow-men, 
we  are  often  defeated  by  our  enemies.  In  this  we 
almost  lost  our  balance,  which  we  soon  regained  in 
our  full  strength,  and  we  came  off  victorious,  to  the 
astonishment  of  our  opposers. 

The  generous  contributions  of  the  citizens,  by  way 
of  provisions  and  money  for  the  celebration,  evinced 
their  appreciation  of  our  efforts  ;  the  arrangement  re 
flected  great  credit  upon  those  who  had  it  in  charge. 
The  procession  formed  on  Franklin  Square,  headed  by 
the  Norwich  Brass  and  String  Bands,  proceeded  from 
the  Square  up  Washington  Street,  down  Broadway,  up 
Franklin  Street  :  thence  to  Rockwell's  Grove,  where  a 
platform  was  erected,  upon  which  sat  the  speaker  of 
the  day,  and  a  few  of  our  leading  citizens.  One  feature 
of  the  procession  that  attracted  much  attention,  was  a 
tasefully  decorated  car,  drawn  by  two  horses,  filled  with 
young  ladies  dressed  in  white,  bearing  aloft  the  banner 
of  beauty  and  glory.  The  selectmen,  common  council, 
clergy,  and  other  citizens  participated  in  the  celebra 
tion,  and  helped  to  swell  the  number. 


108  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

A  goodly  number  stood  beneath  the  trees  in  the 
shady  grove,  and  fanned  by  the  gentle  breeze  that  came 
laden  with  the  perfume  of  peaceful  fields,  under  the 
canopy  of  the  deep  blue  heavens,  listened  to  the  oration 
of  the  Hon.  Charles  L.  Remond.  The  exercises  open 
ed  with  prayer  by  one  of  our  citizens,  invoking  the 
blessings  of  Heaven  upon  all.  After  which  Mr.  Re 
mond  proceeded  in  a  most  able  and  eloquent  manner 
to  review,  in  fine  style,  the  most  important  incidents 
connected  with  the  event  we  had  met  to  celebrate. 
His  theme  was  :  "  The  Advancement  of  the  Colored 
People."  He  referred  to  the  present  condition  and 
future  prospects  of  my  people.  Every  word  was  spark 
ling,  brilliant,  convincing  and  touching,  and  was  re 
ceived  with  great  applause.  His  speech  was  full  of 
thoughts  that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn,  and  was 
listened  to  with  marked  attention  and  interest. 

After  the  address  was  a  collation,  to  which  the  peo 
ple  did  ample  justice.  The  long  tables  were  arranged 
with  much  taste,  by  competent  ladies,  and  others,  who 
had  them  in  charge.  It  was  an  enjoyable  occasion  for 
every  one  present.  The  Norwich  Brass  Band  played 
in  fine  style  the  pleasing  national  airs;  among  them 
were  "  Hail,  Columbia,"  and  the  "  Star  Spangled  Ban 
ner,"  which  always  stir  up  the  patriotism  of  every  true 
American,  and  were  loudly  encored.  It  was  an  event 
long  to  be  remembered  in  the  hearts  of  my  people,  and 
is  one  of  the  greatest  and  brightest  events  that  has 
ever  occurred  in  our  history  as  a  people,  and  should  be 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.  We  ten 
der  our  thanks  to  the  citizens  of  Norwich,  for  their 
generosity  and  kindness  in  aiding  us  in  that  great  and 
good  cause. 


CONCLUSION.  109 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

The  Hon.  Charles  L.  Remond  is  no  more,  for  his 
earthly  career  is  ended.  By  his  untiring  energy  he 
became  one  of  our  first  men,  and  advanced,  step  by 
step,  till  he  became  a  custom  house  officer  at  Boston. 
His  well-known  qualifications  as  a  man  were  more  than 
of  ordinary  mark,  and  well-fitted  him  for  the  position 
and  duties  which  he  was  called  to  fill.  He  always 
wielded  his  pen  for  the  benefit  of  his  people.  As  an 
orator,  he  has  had  few  equals.  His  pen  has  carried 
light  and  comfort  to  many  a  household  of  my  people. 
He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  anti-slavery  move 
ment  in  its  earliest  days,  when  agitation  was  at  its 
height.  Let  his  honored  name  be  held  in  grateful  re 
membrance,  to  be  handed  down  from  posterity  to  pos 
terity. 

Dear  reader,  this  simple  story  of  my  life  is  no  record 
of  bold  events,  that,  with  the  multitude  constitute  the 
hero  ;  no  tell  tale  of  fiction  to  draw  on  the  imagination. 
It  is  a  story  that  is  real,  that  is  earnest ;  and  if  it 
touches  the  simple  heart  that  has  power  to  sympathize 
with  the  unfortunate  in  times  of  adversity,  and  to 
mingle  in  the  joys  that  come  to  the  after-life,  giving 
peace  and  satisfaction  to  the  soul,  it  will  accomplish  its 
purpose.  I  have  hesitated  in  this  work,  feeling  that 
ordinarily  the  experiences  of  the  individual  life  are 
sacred,  and  that  the  bitterest  and  the  best  belong  to 
one's  own  self,  and  can  never  be  felt  by  another.  But 
there  are  lives  whose  experiences  the  public  have  a 
right  to  know  ;  lives  wrought  out  in  the  interest  of 
some  great  cause,  or  so  linked  to  the  progress  of  hu- 


110  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

manity  that  they  modify  and  mould  its  destiny.  The 
life  that  is  buoyant  with  hope,  living  perpetually  in 
God's  sunshine,  realizing  every  thing  that  is  sweet  in 
existence,  has  little  in  it  that  touches  the  chord  of 
sympathy,  and  no  necessity  calls  for  its  revealment. 
Yet  there  are  those  in  toils  and  trials  that  reap  an  ex 
perience  that,  when  made  known,  unfold  a  lesson  of 
admonition  and  comfort  to  others.  Life's  ways,  in 
this  regard,  are  so  mysterious,  that  we  are  dumb  to  the 
inquiry :  "  Why  is  it  so  ?"  Yet,  flowing  out  of  this, 
we  see  the  Guiding  Hand  preparing  us  for  better  things, 
moulding  us  for  a  better  life.  The  slave-life  of  which 
this  little  volume  so  largely  treats  is  analogous  to  this. 
No  mystery  was  ever  deeper  than  that  which  shrouds 
the  path  by  which  men  were  led  into  bondage,  and  no 
system  was  ever  more  cruel  and  intolerant  than  that 
which  inflicted  stripes  and  burdens  upon  men,  without 
cause,  and  deprived  them  of  liberty  and  the  right  to 
life.  Yet  when  we  look  back  upon  God's  dealings  with 
his  early  people,  and  see  how  they  wrought  in  bondage 
and  suffered  in  their  wanderings  from  it,  it  reveals  His 
power  of  bringing  good  out  of  evil,  light  out  of  dark 
ness,  and  becomes  a  school  of  wisdom  to  the  world. 
So  the  first  slave  ship  that  crossed  the  ocean,  with  its 
stolen  fruits  of  life  and  liberty,  of  bone  and  muscle,  of 
sinew  and  nerve,  of  flesh  and  spirit,  bore  tidings  of 
sorrow  and  wretchedness  to  generations,  whom,  yet 
through  the  darkness  and  gloom  of  two  centuries  the 
Great  Disposer  of  all  events  saw  the  end.  We  are  yet 
unable  to  see  it.  The  wail  of  the  bondmen  toiling  in 
the  brake,  or  under  the  scourging  lash  must  have  a 
significance  in  the  work  of  civilization,  or  God  is  not 
wise  or  just. 


CONCLUSION.  Ill 

The  filling  up  of  their  years  with  misery  and  degra 
dation  must  mean  something  more  than  an  event  of 
fate,  else  there  is  no  law  of  progress  that  bears  men  on 
through  storm,  tumult  and  tempest  to  the  goal  of  peace. 
We  are  just  crossing  the  bitter  waters,  and  can  scarcely 
see  oar  landing;  we  are  not  safe  over,  yet  we  hope  to 
escape  the  storms  that  are  still  beating  upon  us,  and 
moor  our  bark  on  the  shore  of  freedom.  Dear  friend, 
read  this  simple  story  carefully,  and  ponder  its  lessons. 
What  if  it  had  been  your  child,  stolen  from  your  home, 
borne  to  a  foreign  shore,  doomed  to  such  a  life,  and 
destined  to  become  the  progenitor  of  a  race  bound  to 
toil  and  woe,  would  not  your  heart  flow  in  sympathy 
with  the  weakest  of  that  race  who  should  come  to  you 
in  sorrow?  But,  say  you,  the  day  of  trial  is  over,  the 
stream  of  sympathy  may  be  dried  up  because  of  the 
nominal  freedom  that  has  been  vouchsafed.  I  say  to 
you  nay  ;  my  whole  race  is  yet  in  peril,  and  God  only 
knows  the  end.  The  love  of  gain,  the  lust  of  power 
is  still  dominant,  and  ceases  not  to  inflict  their  burdens 
and  enforce  their  demands. 

Sorrowing  at  the  situation,  pained  at  the  necessity 
which  yet  drives  our  brethren  from  pillar  to  post,  or 
binds  them  to  the  wicked  caprices  of  their  old  masters, 
yet  we  appreciate  the  open  hearts  that  welcome  them 
to  new  homes,  and  the  willing  hands  that  minister  to 
their  dire  necessities.  We  have  yet  much  to  ask  of 
others;  we  have  much  more  to  accomplish  for  our 
selves.  What  has  been  wrought  in  the  past  cannot  be 
overcome  at  once.  Gradually  the  work  of  demoraliza 
tion  does  its  work,  and  not  much  swifter  must  be  the 
work  of  regeneration.  We  cannot  save  ourselves  with- 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

out  aid  and  sympathy  from  others  ;  without  the  pro 
tection  of  just  laws  and  righteous  judgment ;  others 
cannot  save  us  without  our  aid — without  the  consecra 
tion  of  all  our  best  faculties  to  the  work  before  us. 
Let  us,  then,  work  mutually  in  unfolding  the  mysteries 
of  that  Providence  which  is  not  only  bringing  us  up 
out  of  bondage,  but  which  is  to  redeem  the  whole  race 
of  mankind  from  the  gloom  of  darkness  and  the  thrall- 
dom  of  sin. 

With  these  thoughts  I  leave,  asking  you  to  give  your 
hearts  to  wisdom,  restraining  yourselves  from  selfish 
ness,  and  living  for  the  good  of  others.  There  has 
been  enough  of  pain,  and  sorrow,  and  despair.  The 
whole  current  of  life  must  be  changed,  and  men  be 
taught  no  longer  to  hedge  the  way  of  others,  but  to 
scatter  sunbeams,  solar  sunbeams  ;  the  sunbeams  of  life 
in  their  path. 


COLORED  MEN  DURING  THE  WAR.        113 


CHAPTER  X. 


COLORED  MEN  DURING  THE  WAR. 

In  battle — Kindness  to  Union  men — Devotion  to  the  Union — 
2gth  Conn. — Its  departure — Return — The  noble  Kansas  troops 
— 54th  Mass. — Obedience  to  orders. 

T  is  a  fact  to  be  lamented  that  the  historians 
of  our  country  speak  so  little  about  the  he 
roic  deeds  of  the  colored  troops  ;  in  fact,  by 
some  no  mention  is  made  of  them  at  all ;  but,  let  it  be  as 
it  may,  the  fact  that  they,  after  many  petitions  to  be  al 
lowed  to  take  their  place  in  the  ranks,  fought  bravely 
and  well,  lives  in  the  heart  of  every  true  American 
citizen.  Many  were  the  commendations  they  received 
from  their  officers.  Look  at  them  at  Fort  Pillow,  Mil- 
liken's  Bend,  Port  Hudson,  Fort  Wagner,  and  Olustee ! 
Where  do  we  find  them  ?  In  places  of  most  imminent 
danger,  where  the  battle  raged  hottest,  closing  up 
where  their  ranks  were  thinned  out  before  a  reeking 
fire  of  grape  and  canister. 

"  Cannon  to  the  right  of  them  ! 
Cannon  to  the  left  of  them  ! 
Onward  they  went, 
'  Noble  black  regiment !'  " 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

The  black  man  went  into  the  war  with  but  one  de 
termination  :  that  once  learning  the  use  of  arms,  he 
would  never  again  be  made  a  slave.  Whether  he  ever 
enjoyed  the  blessed  privileges  of  freedom  himself  it 
mattered  little  to  him  so  that  his  race  derived  the  bene 
fits.  Says  one  officer  :  "  I  never  saw  men  more  will- 
ling  to  sacrifice  themselves  on  the  '  altar  of  their 
country  '  than  those  in  the  8th  U.  S.,  of  which  I  have 
command."  Says  a  captain  of  another  colored  com 
pany  :  "  I  never  saw  a  more  heroic  company  of  men  in 
my  life."  And  thus  it  might  be  said  of  many  other 
colored  regiments  that  went  into  the  field.  None  were 
ever  known  to  flee  when  the  hour  of  battle  was  nigh  ; 
nay,  rather  it  was  as  much  as  the  officers  could  do  to 
restrain  them  till  the  order  to  fire  should  be  given. 

The  slaves  had  it  in  their  power,  when  their  masters 
were  away  to  the  war,  to  kill  their  defenceless  wives 
and  children,  many  of  whom  had  been  left  in  their 
care.  How  often  has  the  case  been  when  the  master, 
just  before  leaving  his  home,  has  called  to  him  his 
most  faithful  servant  and  left  in  his  charge  those  most 
dear  to  him  ;  and  I  have  known  cases  where  silver 
ware  and  other  valuables  have  been  stowed  away  in 
some  old  cabin  till  "mar's  comes  back."  Ah!  the 
slave-holder  knew  the  slaves  could  be  trusted — a  fact 
which  the  North  was  not  long  in  finding  out,  even  be 
fore  it  tried  the  experiment  of  organizing  them  into 
troops. 

A  Union  soldier  being  wounded,  probably  left  in  the 
woods  to  die,  having  wandered  about  under  cover  of 
night,  at  last  falls  upon  the  cabin  of  some  old  "aunty." 
A  sense  of  safety  and  security  steals  over  him,  for  he 


COLORED    MEN    DURING    THE    WAR.  115 

knows  that  no  power  on  earth  could  make  her  betray 
him.  I  copy  an  extract  of  a  letter,  showing  the  kind 
ness  of  the  slaves  towards  the  Union  soldiers,  to  which 
many  of  them  can  testify  : 

""  ADVENTURES     OF     TWO     ESCAPED     PRISONERS,    AND     THE     HELP 
THEY    RECEIVED    FROM    THE    SLAVES    IN   THE    PERILOUS    VOY 
AGE   THENCE   TO    KNOXVILLE,    TENNESSEE. 

"  Two  Union  officers,  Lieut.  Col.  Thomas  J.  Leigh,  of  the  7ist 
New  York,  and  Lieut.  Tincker,  of  Indiana,  had  made  their  escape 
from  the  prison  stockade  at  Columbia,  S.  C.  They  traveled  two 
nights,  and  got  within  three  miles  of  Lexington,  when  they  met  a 
couple  of  slaves,  and  asked  them  the  direction  to  Ninety-Six  Sta 
tion.  They  pointed  out  to  the  officers  the  road,  and  asserted  posi 
tively  that  '  they  were  their  friends,  and  when  they  wanted  assist 
ance  they  must  crawl  up  to  the  fields  about  dusk,  and  wait  for  a 
field  hand  to  come  along  ;  that  they  would  furnish  them  with  pro 
visions,  and  never  betray  them.'  On  the  fifth  night  of  their  jour 
ney  they  were  making  north-west  for  Knoxville,  Tenn.  On  the 
evening  of  the  sixth  day  they  ventured  cautiously  to  a  plantation 
where  they  saw  a  large  number  of  hogs  in  a  field  running  toward 
them  as  though  they  expected  to  be  fed,  and  they  judged  from  this 
(hat  a  slave  would  soon  come  and  feed  them.  They  were  right  in 
their  conjecture,  for  in  a  few  moments  a  slave  came  along  with  a 
basket  on  his  head,  with  corn  for  the  hogs.  Col.  Leigh  called  to 
him,  and,  as  he  came  up  to  him,  questioned  him  '  if  he  would 
betray  him  ?'  The  slave  replied  :  '  No  ;  the  negroes  in  that  part 
of  the  country  did  not  do  that  sort  of  thing.'  He  said:  'You 
must  be  hungry  ?'  The  officer  replied  :  '  That  was  what  I  hailed 
you  for.'  The  slave  advised  him  '  to  wait  about  an  hour,  and  he  '11 
have  lots  to  eat.'  He  then  started  for  the  house,  and  in  about  an 
hour  came  back,  along  with  several  other  slaves,  all  carrying  eata 
bles — chicken,  possum,  rice  and  shortcake — sufficient  to  last  a  two 
days'  journey.  As  it  began  to  rain,  the  slaves  advised  them  '  to 
lay  still  that  night,  and  it  would  clear  up  before  morning.'  Both 
of  the  officers  took  their  advice,  and  they  kept  them  company  all 
night. 


116  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

41  They  were  very  anxious  about  the  state  of  affairs.  They  asked 
the  officers  '  if  they  thought  Jeff.  Davis  was  going  to  give  the  slaves 
arms  ;'  and  then  said  that  their  'masters  had  made  propositions  to 
them,  that  if  they  would  take  up  arms  and  fight  for  the  South,  they 
would  be  free.'  One  of  the  officers  asked  them  '  if  they  would 
fight  against  the  North  ?'  They  promptly  replied  :  '  Only  let  them 
give  us  arms,  and  we  will  show  them  which  side  we  will  fight  for.' 
They  said  :  '  We  have  now  some  arms  hid  ;'  and  wanted  to  know 
4  if,  when  they  were  formed  into  companies  and  regiments,  whether 
they  could  be  together,  and  talk  with  one  another.'  He  told  them 
*  Certainly."  One  slave  remarked  :  '  My  master  offers  me  my  free 
dom  if  I  will  take  up  arms,  but  I  have  a  family — a  wife  and  five 
children — and  he  does  not  offer  to  free  them  ;  and  we  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  use  in  fighting  for  our  freedom 
when  any  one  of  our  children  we  may  have  are  to  be  made  slaves.' 
He  felt  that  he  could  not  himself  enjoy  the  blessings  of  freedom 
while  his  own  wife  and  children  toiled  in  hopeless  bondage.  Con 
tinued  he  :  '  When  we  get  the  use  of  arms,  and  are  permitted  to 
be  together  in  regiments,  we  can  demand  freedom  for  our  families, 
and  take  it.'  Another  one  remarked  4  that  their  masters  did  not 
venture  to  whip  them  now  ;  that  they  were  fed  on  a  little  better 
food  than  before  the  war,  and  they  believed  this  was  only  done  to 
humor  them  and  keep  them  quiet.' 

"They  departed  the  next  morning,  wishing  the  slaves  4  good 
luck,'  and  they  replying  '  God  bless  you,'  which  is  a  very  common 
expression  in  that  portion  of  the  country.  They  then  pursued 
their  journey,  without  anything  worthy  of  note  happening,  until 
they  arrived  in  the  Pickens  District,  S.  C.,  on  a  plantation  of  Dr. 
Earl,  who  was  publicly  known  to  be  a  secessionist.  Here  they  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  large  number  of  slaves  of  his  plantation,  and 
others,  discussing  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Sherman,  at  Augusta,  Ga. 

"  It  appeared  that  they  had  in  a  secret  manner  sent  one  of  their 
number  in  haste  towards  Hamburg,  to  get  fresh  information  about 
Sherman,  with  the  intention,  on  the  arrival  of  the  courier,  to  make 
a  general  stampede  into  the  Union  lines.  They  counted  on  be 
tween  five  and  eight  thousand  slaves,  who  consented  to  go  with 
them.  All  of  these  men  treated  the  officers  very  kindly,  and  gave 
them  a  large  supply  of  provisions.  They  told  them  '  to  stop  at 


COLORED    MEN    DURING    THE    WAR.  117 

the  home  of  John  W.  Wilson,  a  strong  Union  man.'  Accord 
ingly,  the  next  evening  about  half-past  nine  o'clock,  Col.  Leigh 
knocked  at  VVilson's  door  ;  he  came,  holding  a  revolver  in  his 
hand,  and  demanded  to  know  who  they  were.  They  told  him 
that  '  they  were  escaped  Union  officers.'  After  hearing  this,  he 
invited  them  into  his  house,  and  treated  them  very  cordially.  He 
informed  them  of  the  re-election  of  President  Lincoln,  and  as  they 
were  about  leaving  him,  went  kindly  with  them  to  the  middle  of  the 
road,  where  they  all  gave  three  cheers  for  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  Being  properly  directed  on  their  course,  they  reached  Bumcomb 
County,  in  Western  North  Carolina.  There  they  saw  a  woman 
Nin  a  field  plowing  ;  she  informed  them  that  in  that  County,  and 
also  in  Henderson  and  Madison  Counties,  there  were  over  five  hun 
dred  men  who  had  been  conscripted — enrolled  militia-men — her 
husband  among  the  number,  who,  refusing  to  join  the  Confederate 
army,  lay  concealed  in  caves  in  the  woods.  The  country  is  ran 
sacked  by  Rebel  details,  who  plunder  the  defenceless  women  and 
children,  and  shoot  the  men  if  found  in  the  woods.  In  traveling 
over  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  across  the  moun 
tains,  a  scene  of  great  destitution  prevailed  ;  women  performed 
the  duties  of  men  ;  the  children  had  no  shoes,  and  the  country 
seemed  given  up  to  entire  lawlessness.  The  remainder  of  their 
journey  was  executed  solely  under  the  guidance  of  women,  and 
on  the  evening  of  December  I3th  they  reached  Knoxville,  having 
spent  forty-four  days  in  their  perilous  travels." 

Many  a  soldier  has  been  carefully  nursed  by  slaves,, 
and  sent  back  to  the  army  a  well  man.  It  will  be  seen, 
moreover,  that  the  slave  was  no  respecter  of  persons,  as 
in  this  instance.  A  slave  mother,  who,  on  bidding  her 
son  "God  speed,"  on  his  way  to  the  war,  exclaimed: 
"  If  you  see  Mar's,  pick  him  out  de  fust  one."  The 
name  "Yankee,"  to  these  poor,  depressed  people  meant 
freedom,  and  they  were  never  known  to  turn  their 
hand  against  a  blue-coat. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  many  black  men  went 
as  servants,  and  at  times  of  battle  begged  for  a  bayo- 


118  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

net,  and  took  their  places  in  a  company.  How  many 
brave  souls  perished  this  way  will  never  be  known  til) 
the  judgment.  History  has  made  no  note  of  them, 
though  they  died  riddled  with  bullets,  with  the  bayonet 
grasped  firmly  in  the  hand. 

Some  of  the  slave-holders  offered  their  slaves  free 
dom  if  they  would  join  the  Confederate  army.  Says 
one:  "  I  have  a  wife  and  children  in  slavery  ;  he  don't 
say  a  word  about  freeing  them.  No,  sir,  I  don't  fight 
unless  they  can  be  free,  too."  Others,  on  being  inter 
rogated  as  "  to  what  they  'd  do  if  arms  were  put  in 
their  hands,  whether  they  would  fight  for  the  South," 
replied  :  "  Let  them  give  us  arms,  we  '11  show  them 
which  side  we  fight  for."  And  so,  at  last,  when  the  ex 
periment  was  tried,  whether  the  black  man  would  run 
in  battle,  it  was  soon  found  out  which  side  they  were 
determined  to  fight  for. 

As  soon  as  it  was  made  known  that  colored  volun 
teers  would  be  accepted  they  came  pouring  in  from  all 
sections.  In  Norwich  a  regiment  was  soon  formedr 
(29th  Conn.,)  which  did  good  service  in  the  field. 
Never  did  we  feel  prouder  than  when,  after  a  few 
weeks'  encampment  in  New  Haven,  they  marched  away 
with  flying  banners  and  martial  music. 

Some  of  the  ladies  of  color  instituted  a  Ladies'  Aid 
Society,  which  met  once  a  week  at  the  houses  of  its 
different  members  to  make  up  both  fancy  and  useful 
articles,  as  they  intended  to  hold  a  fair  in  one  the 
largest  halls  in  the  place — the  proceeds  of  which  were 
to  be  devoted  to  getting  up  a  box  for  the  brave  29th. 
There  was  in  it  almost  every  conceivable  delicacy  that 
could  be  imagined,  that  would  bring  delight  to  any  one 


COLORED  MEN  DURING  THE  WAR.        119 

far  away  from  home  and  longing  for  its  luxuries. 
There  were  also  useful  and  needy  articles,  put  up  by 
loving  hands,  for  the  brave  boys  who  had  given  their 
lives  for  their  country.  Some  few  of  them  lived  to  re 
turn.  In  the  severe  fighting  before  Petersburg  many 
found  an  early  grave. 

The  fair  was  held  for  one  week,  at  Breed  Hall, 
which  was  most  handsomely  decorated  with  flags  and 
banners.  The  tables  were  arranged  around  the  hall, 
and  fairly  crowded  upon  them  were  articles  of  every 
description.  Many  thanks  are  due  to  those  who  so 
well  patronized  us.  Many  influential  families  sent  in 
contributions,  both  of  money  and  articles  to  help  the 
cause.  Too  much  can  not  be  said  of  the  members  of 
the  society  for  their  untiring  zeal — how  they  met, 
through  storm  and  rain — nothing  deterred  them  from 
their  work.  If,  at  times,  their  spirits  seemed  to  flag, 
thoughts  of  the  brave  29th,  at  their  dangerous  post, 
stirred  them  up  with  renewed  vigor.  The  fair  netted 
a  handsome  profit.  The  box  was  quickly  made  ready, 
and  sent  on  its  way. 

We  have  the  surety  that  the  box  reached  its  destina 
tion,  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  written  by 
E.  C.  Green,  to  an  officer  of  the  regiment.  It  reads 
thus: 

.  *  "  Before  closing  may  I  refer  you  to  the  pleasure 

you  gave  to  the  ladies  of  our  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  a  year  since 
in  allowing  them  to  furnish  your  regiment  with  a  box  of  hospital 
supplies,  and  say  to  you,  if  your  supplies  are  at  present  insufficient, 
we  would  be  glad  to  forward  another  box  of  similar  articles,  if 
your  surgeon  would  have  the  pleasure  of  sending  us  a  list  of  arti 
cles  needed.  With  much  esteem, 

Yours,  very  truly, 

E.  C.  GREEN." 


120  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

DEPARTURE    OF    THE    BRAVE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONN. 

At  two  P.  M.  the  regiment  stood  in  waiting.  A  few 
moments  after,  a  carriage  containing  Major  General 
Russell,  Major  Tyler,  Major  Wayland,  and  Alderman 
Marble,  drove  up  in  front  of  the  regiment;  every  man 
of  which  stood  erect  and  manly  as  if  conscious  of  what 
was  before  him.  A  handsome  flag  was  presented  by 
Miss  Diantha  Hodge,  to  whom  Col.  Wooster  respond 
ed  in  a  soldier  like  speech  ;  after  which  the  order  was 
given,  and  they  marched  off  by  the  right  flank,  amid 
the  cheers  of  the  assembled  crowds,  and  the  farewells 
of  old  friends.  Cheer  after  cheer  came  from  the  lips 
of  the  men  as  they  saw  the  stars  and  stripes  floating  to 
the  breeze  along  the  line  of  march.  The  regiment 
halted  on  the  old  Green  for  an  hour,  waiting  for  the 
tide  to  rise  to  enable  the  steamer  Warrior  to  near  the 
wharf,  then  the  line  of  march  was  resumed  down 
Chapel  Street  to  State,  down  State  to  the  wharf.  At 
six  o'clock,  the  regiment  marched  on  board,  with 
orders  to  report  at  the  depot  of  the  ninth  army  corps, 
at  Annapolis,  Md. 

Reaching  this  place  they  found  themselves  anything 
but  comfortable — a  sharp,  raw  north-east  wind  prevail 
ing.  The  tents  did  not  arrive  till  nearly  dark  ;  these 
were  hastily  pitched  and  occupied.  In  the  morning 
they  awoke  to  find  themselves  covered  with  from  one 
to  three  feet  of  snow.  Crackling,  blazing  camp-fires 
were  built,  and  around  them  cheerful  blue  coated  dark 
skins  gathered,  full  of  wit  and  humor.  On  the  27th  of 
April,  1864,  the  regiment  left  for  the  front.  Its  suffer 
ings  in  the  bloody  struggle  before  Richmond  were  ter 
rible  and  heart  rending.  It  went  into  the  fight  of  eleven 


COLORED    MEN    DURING    THE  WAR.  121 

hours  with  four  hundred  and  fifty  brave,  armed  and 
equipped  men  ;  it  came  out  with  one  hundred  and 
eighty  men,  all  told — no  field  officers,  and  one  wounded 
company  officer. 

THEIR    RETURN. 

On  the  morning  of  Oct.  i4th,  1865,  orders  were  re 
ceived  to  prepare  to  be  mustered  out  of  the  U.  S.  ser 
vice.  Oct.  i6th  the  boys  bade  good-bye  to  hard-tack, 
salt  horse,  and  other  delicacies  known  nowhere  but  in 
the  army.  They  embarked  on  board  the  steamer, 
singing  "Homeward  Bound."  After  reaching  New 
York  they  embarked  for  Hartford,  where  they  would  be 
paid  off,  and  receive  their  discharge  papers.  Here 
they  were  met  by  the  Mayor  and  a  committee,  and 
marched  up  to  Central  Row,  headed  by  Colt's  Brass 
Band,  where  they  stacked  arms  and  unslung  knap 
sacks  ;  then  the  battalion  formed  in  two  ranks  and 
marched  to  the  City  Hall,  where  a  splendid  feast 
awaited  them. 

On  entering  the  hall  the  first  thing  to  be  seen  was 
the  "Star  Spangled  Banner,"  extended  across  the  hall, 
and  in  the  centre  a  banner  bearing  the  following  : 
"Welcome,  29th  C.  V.;"  "Deep  Bottom,"  "Straw 
berry  Plains,  Va.,"  "  Siege  of  Petersburg,"  "  New 
Market  Heights,"  "  Danberry  Town  Road,"  "  Chapin's 
Farm,"  "  Fair  Oaks."  At  the  head  of  the  banner  was 
an  evergreen  wreath,  prepared  by  the  ladies.  On  the 
stand  were  the  busts  of  Lincoln,  and  others. 

After  feasting,  they  were  ordered  to  march  to  Cen 
tral  Row,  where  they  learned  the  3ist  U.  S.  C.  I.  had 
just  arrived.  The  29th  and  3ist  then  formed  in  a 
square  on  State  House  Square,  where  they  were  ad- 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

dressed  by  Mayor  Stillman  ;  afterwards,  by  His  Ex 
cellency,  Gov.  Buckingham.  After  a  few  remarks  from 
Col.  Wooster  and  Gen.  Hawley,  the  3ist  were  escorted 
to  the  City  Hall,  where  a  breakfast  awaited  them. 
The  29th  were  then  dismissed. 

THE    NOBLE    KANSAS    TROOPS. 

On  the  29th  of  Oct.,  1862,  twenty-four  men  of  the 
ist  Regiment  of  Kansas,  Colored  Volunteers,  having 
advanced  beyond  the  limits  prescribed,  were  charged 
upon  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  the  Rebel  cavalry. 
There  was  a  desperate  hand-to-hand  encounter. 
There  was  no  flinching;  no  hesitating;  no  trembling 
of  limb.  Each  man  saw  exactly  how  matters  stood, 
and,  with  calm  precision,  made  every  stroke  tell. 
Finally  re-inforcements  came  up.  Out  of  the  twenty- 
four  men,  only  six  escaped  unhurt.  The  Rebels  were 
armed  with  shot-guns,  revolvers  and  sabres ;  our  men 
with  Austrian  rifles  and  sabre  bayonets.  This  last  is 
a  fearful  weapon,  and  did  terrible  execution.  Six 
Killer,  the  leader  of  the  Cherokee  negroes,  shot  two 
men,  bayoneted  a  third,  and  laid  the  fourth  with  the 
butt  of  his  gun.  Another  was  attacked  by  three  men. 
He  discharged  his  rifle  and  had  no  time  to  load  again. 
When  asked  to  surrender,  he  replied  by  a  stunning 
blow  from  the  butt  of  his  rifle,  which  knocked  the 
Rebel  off  his  horse. 

So  ended  the  battle  of  Island  Mounds,  which  re 
sulted  in  a  complete  victory  to  the  negro  regiment.  It 
has  been  found  out  that  black  men  make  splendid 
soldiers — that  they  are  anxious  to  serve  their  country 
and  their  race.  No  one  can  point  the  finger  of  scorn 


COLORED    MEN    DURING    THE    WAR.  123 

at  the  Kansas  troops  and  say  they  were  cowards;  yet 
four  months  passed  and  they  were  not  mustered — still 
they  adhered  to  their  organization  through  every  dis 
couragement  and  disadvantage.  Chances  of  recogni 
tion  were  slim.  They  demanded  of  the  military 
authorities  to  be  either  accepted  or  disbanded. 

The  i si  North  Carolina  Regiment  was  commanded 
by  Col.  James  C.  Beecher,  brother  of  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Beecher.  Their  camp  was  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Neuse  River.  The  ground  had  been  enclosed  by  the 
men  so  that  the  locality  presented  quite  a  neat  appear 
ance.  Col.  Beecher  thus  writes  to  his  friends  : 

*  *  *  "I  wish  doubtful  people  at  home  could  see  my 
three  weeks'  regiment.  They  would  talk  less  nonsense  about 
negro  inferiority.  Our  discipline  is  to-day  better  than  that  of  any 
regiment  I  know  of;  and  I  believe,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  our 
efficiency  will  be  second  to  none." 

A  little  later  he  says  : 

*  "  My  regiment  is  a  '  buster,'  improves  every  day  ; 
and  such  a  line  of  battle  as  we  form  !  It  would  make  your  eyes 
shine  to  see  these  six  weeks'  soldiers  going  through  a  dress  parade. 
A  month  later  the  regiment  is  considered  ready  for  a  fair  fight." 

Towards  the  last  of  July  they  left  Newbern  for 
Charlestown,  and  were  put  to  digging  trenches,  getting 
only  a  lull  occasionally  on  the  beach  by  moonlight. 
It  was  quite  a  romantic  scene  :  the  hard,  white  beach; 
the  ocean  waves  splashing  along  the  sand;  the  long  line 
of  black  soldiers,  their  guns  shining  in  the  moonlight. 
They  had  a  great  desire  to  learn  ;  and,  although  the 
digging  went  on,  the  officers  would  instruct  them  at 
night  in  the  speller,  so  that  before  they  went  to  Florida 
three  hundred  of  them  had  learned  to  read  and  write. 


124  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  bravery  of  the  54th 
Mass.  On  one  occasion  it  saved  a  whole  brigade  from 
being  captured  or  annihilated.  The  lamented  Col. 
Shaw  was  one  of  its  commanders.  At  Fort  Wagner, 
when  the  color  sergeant  fell,  and  our  flag  would  have 
been  trailing  in  the  dust,  one  of  its  noble  boys  seized 
it,  sprang  upon  the  parapet,  where  he  received  three 
severe  wounds.  When  the  order  was  given  to  retire, 
the  noble  color  bearer  still  held  the  flag  in  the  air; 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  his  comrades,  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  hospital,  where  he  fell  exhausted,  saying: 
is  The  old  flag  never  touched  the  ground,  boys." 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  murmuring  among  the 
friends  of  the  regiment  in  Boston,  because  of  state 
ments  reaching  them  that  it  was  called  upon  to  per 
form  more  than  its  proportional  part  of  dangerous  duty; 
and  this  seems  true,  since,  in  the  most  perilous  places 
there  would  be  found  the  glorious  54th. 

I  mention  a  few  facts  to  show  that  the  slaves  were 
so  accustomed  to  obeying  orders  that  they  would  fol 
low  out  any  instructions  to  the  very  letter.  It  is  said 
that  while  Gen.  Grant  was  walking  along  the  dock, 
smoking,  a  colored  guard  came  up  to  him  and  said: 
"  No  smoking  on  this  dock,  sir."  The  General  looked 
at  him  and  said  :  "Were  those  your  orders  ?"  "  Yes, 
sir."  "  Very  good  orders,"  replied  the  General,  smiling, 
and  throwing  his  cigar  into  the  water.  Again,  a  Rebel 
picket  offered  a  large  piece  of  tobacco  to  a  colored 
sentinel  if  he  would  give  him  one  biscuit,  or  hard-tack 
as  it  is  called.  "  Against  orders  to  exchange  with  you 
Rebs.,"  he  replied,  and  no  entreaties  would  cause  him 
to  swerve  one  iota  from  his  instructions. 


COLORED   MEN    DURING    THE    WAR.  125 

A  Reb.  was  found  by  two  colored  pickets  skulking 
outside  the  Union  lines.  How  he  cursed  and  swore 
when  he  found  that  he  must  be  brought  into  camp 
under  the  surveillance  of  two  black  soldiers.  He 
refused  to  stir  one  step  ;  "  he  'd  die  on  the  spot  first." 
u  Just  as  you  please,"  replied  the  guard,  "  we  take  your 
dead  or  alive."  The  Reb.  raved  the 'more,  and  said  : 
''  It  was  enough  to  make  his  father  rise  up  out  of  his 
grave."  When  last  seen  he  was  marching  into  camp 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

In  consequence  of  the  breaking  of  the  Weldon  R. 
R.  by  Grant,  much  of  the  Rebel  munitions  of  war 
and  supplies  had  to  be  run  over  a  distance  of  sixteen 
miles,  and  then  transferred  to  the  cars.  Every  thing 
that  could  be  used  for  carrying  purposes  was  pressed 
into  their  service.  Horses  and  mules  were  scarce  in 
the  Confederacy,  so,  in  many  instances,  negroes  were 
hitched  to  the  wagons,  and  it  was  said  made  better 
time  than  when  horses  were  used.  They  would  go  on 
their  way,  singing  and  joking;  and,  after  a  half-hour's 
intermission  at  certain  places,  would  push  onward  as 
fresh  and  lively  as  ever. 

The  slaves  were  of  great  assistance  to  the  Union 
army  on  account  of  their  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
country:  its  ways  and  resources  :  its  wood,  water,  fuel, 
game  :  and  also  of  the  habits  of  the  enemy.  Nothing 
escaped  them.  They  'd  tell  to-day  what  happened 
yesterday  thirty  miles  off;  would  risk  their  lives  to 
give  any  information  which  was  to  be  of  advantage  to 
the  Union. 

At  Washington  the  contrabands,  as  they  were  termed 
during  the  war,  knew  every  inch  of  ground  between 


126  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

there  and  Richmond,  and  gave  valuable  information 
for  maps,  engineering  parties  and  reconnoissances. 
Contraband  pioneers,  armed  with  sharp  axes,  would 
go  on  expeditions  through  the  woods,  under  cover  of 
the  carbines  of  the  cavalry,  hewing  away  the  heavy 
timber,  and  preparing  the  road  for  the  advance.  Every 
thing  in  the  shape  of  a  dog  was  killed.  About  the 
plantations  could  be  seen  the  lifeless  bodies  of.  blood 
hounds  whose  deep  baying  would  no  longer  be  heard 
about  the  swamps,  indicating  the  close  proximity  of 
pursuers. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE     WAR.  127 


CHAPTER   XI 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  WAR, 

The  spirit  of  the  South — Delaware — Kentucky — Meetings — Con 
ventions — Gen.  Wild's  raid — Slave  heroism — A  reminiscence  of 
1863 — Sherman's  march  through  Georgia — Arming  the  slave. 

HE  spirit  of  the  rebellion  still  shows  itself  in 
many  of  the  States.  Its  influences  are  plainly 
manifested  in  the  State  of  Delaware.  In 
my  escape  from  the  South  I  passed  through  this  State. 
How  I  ever  succeeded,  without  being  detected,  I  can 
not  tell  to  this  day.  Nothing  but  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord  ever  carried  me  through.  Here,  in  the  height 
of  slavery,  I  went  on  board  the  boat  at  New  Castle, 
and  no  white  man  questioned  me  as  to  my  whereabouts, 
or  asked  for  my  pass.  As  for  the  town  of  New  Cas 
tle,  the  very  atmosphere  seemed  tainted  with  slavery. 
The  feeling  was  most  bitter  in  Odessa,  during  1865, 
against  persons  of  color  from  the  North  giving  lectures 
in  the  town.  On  one  occasion  a  mob  of  white  ruffians 
surrounded  a  colored  church,  showering  stones  and 
bricks  at  the  doors  and  windows,  swearing  that  the 
meeting  should  be  dismissed.  One  of  the  local  laws 
of  the  State  says  that  :  "  Any  negro  or  mulatto 
coming  into  the  State,  who  is  a  non-resident  of 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES   L.    SMITH. 

the  locality  he  may  visit,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  fifty 
dollars,  six  month's  imprisonment,  and  twenty-five 
lashes."  Learning  of  this,  they  concluded  to  dismiss 
the  meeting. 

March  4th,  1865,  Maj.  Gen.  Palmer  issued  an  order 
that :  "All  slave  pens,  and  other  private  establishments 
for  confining  persons  in  Louisville,  be  suppressed ;  and 
all  confined  persons  discharged,  except  such  as  have 
committed  crimes."  A  colored  police  officer  brought 
out  many  an  innocent  man  and  woman.  Some  had 
iron  bars  on  their  legs,  reaching  from  the  hip  to  the 
ankle  and  fastened  on  with  iron  straps. 

There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  Kentucky  when 
colored  men,  women  and  children  found  upon  the 
highways  after  dark  were  surrounded  by  the  city  guard, 
and  flogged  by  them  in  the  public  streets.  In  Louis 
ville  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  called  a  meeting  at  which 
delegates  were  appointed  to  hold  an  interview  with  the 
President,  calling  his  attention  to  a  few  of  the  laws 
which  bore  so  heavily  on  our  race  :  First,  they  had  no 
oath  ;  second,  they  had  no  right  of  domicile  ;  third, 
no  right  of  locomotion  ;  fourth,  no  right  of  self-de 
fense ;  fifth,  a  statute  of  Kentucky  makes  it  a  penal 
crime,  with  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  one 
year,  for  any  freeman  of  color,  under  any  circumstan 
ces,  to  pass  into  a  free  State,  even  for  a  moment.  Any 
freeman,  not  a  native,  found  within  her  borders  is  sub 
ject  to  the  same  penalty  ;  and  for  the  second  offense 
shall  be  a  slave  for  life. 

In  1865  the  first  delegation  of  colored  men  that  ever 
left  Kentucky,  on  a  mission  of  liberty,  started  for  Wash 
ington  to  accomplish  the  noble  work  entrusted  to  their 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    WAR.  129 

hands.  The  interview  was  satisfactory,  the  President 
assuring  them  that  the  government  would  yield  them 
every  protection,  and  that  the  martial  law  would  con 
tinue  till  the  Kentuckians  should  learn  more  truly  their 
position,  and  their  duty  to  the  nation. 

The  first  free  convention  in  the  State  of  Virginia, 
during  a  period  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  years, 
was  held  in  Alexandria,  at  the  Lyceum  Building. 
Fifty  delegates  were  present.  Addresses  were  made 
by  Geo.  W.  Cook,  of  Norfolk;  Peter  R.  Jones,  of 
Petersburg;  and  Nicholas  Richmond,  of  Charlottes- 
ville. 

THE    CELEBRATION    OF    THE    FOURTH    OF    JULY 
IN    LOUISVILLE,    KENTUCKY. 

For  the  first  time  the  people  celebrated  this  day  as 
a  free  people.  Extensive  preparations  were  made. 
There  was  a  great  out-pouring  of  people.  They  came 
from  the  factories,  the  work-shops  and  the  fields  to  en 
joy  themselves  in  the  pure,  fresh  air  of  freedom.  The 
procession  was  formed  in  the  following  manner  : 

I23rd  U.  S.  C.  I. — eight  hundred  strong. 

Band. 

Fifth  St.  Sabbath  School — Asbury  Chapel  S.  S.— Quinn  Chapel 

S.  S.— Jackson  St.  S.  S.— Green  St.  S.  S.— 

York  St.  S.  S.— Centre  St.  S.  S. 

Band. 

Government  Employees,  one  hundred  and  fifty — Sons  of  Union — 
West  Union  Sons — Sons  of  Honor — United  Brothers  of 

Friendship — United  Fellows. 
Car  tastefully  decorated,  drawn  by  four  horses,  filled  with  misses, 

representing  the  Fifth  St.  Baptist  Aid  Society. 

Car  representing  the  Original  Aid  Society  in  Kentucky. 

The  Colored  Ladies'  Soldier's  and  Freedman's  Aid  Society. 

Car  filled  with  working  men,  plying  the  saw,  plane, 

hammer  and  mallet. 

I25th  U.  S.  C.  I.— six  hundred  strong. 

Band. 

9 


130  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

Fully  ten  thousand  persons  inarched  in  the  proces 
sion,  and  ten  thousand  more  assembled  on  the  ground. 
A  sumptuous  dinner  was  prepared  for  the  soldiers, 
after  which  the  speaking  began.  Addresses  were  made 
by  David  Jenkins,  J.  M.  Langston,  Chaplain  Collins 
and  Lieut.  Ward.  When  Gen.  Palmer  appeared  such 
a  shout  as  went  up  was  enough  to  bring  all  the  invisi 
ble  sprites  and  spirits  from  their  hiding  places.  As 
soon  as  it  became  quiet  he  began.  His  speech  was 
continually  applauded.  He  finished  amid  rounds  of 
applause,  banners  waving,  and  the  band  playing  the 
"  Star  Spangled  Banner."  That  night  the  heavens 
were  ablaze  with  rockets,  fiery  serpents  and  blue  lights. 

GEN.   WILD'S  RAID. 

During  a  march,  when  our  troops  neared  a  planta 
tion,  the  slaves  would  eagerly  join  them.  In  many  in 
stances  in  plundering  the  houses  slaves  were  found 
locked  up.  Continually  during  this  raiding  expedition, 
slaves  came  pouring  in  from  the  country  in  every  di 
rection,  with  their  household  furniture,  thronging  the 
lately  deserted  streets.  This  expedition  was  to  search 
out  guerrillas,  lurking  about  the  neighborhood  of  Eliza 
beth  City  and  firing  on  our  pickets.  A  force  of  colored 
men  fell  on  their  camp.  There  was  a  hasty  escapade, 
and  the  soldiers  came  in  possession  of  fire-arms  and 
horses.  Leaving  Elizabeth  City,  they  passed  by  vast 
fields  of  corn  a  mile  in  extent,  commodious  looking 
buildings  and  magnificent  plantations.  Here  the  troops 
commenced  to  work  in  earnest,  and  became  an  army 
of  liberation. 

On  the  first  plantation   they  found  fourteen  slaves, 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    WAR.  131 

who  gladly  joined  them.  An  old  wagon  was  found,  to 
which  a  horse  was  harnessed.  Such  furnituie  as  the 
slaves  needed  was  placed  in  it,  and  the  women  and 
children  on  top.  And  so  they  went  from  house  to 
house,  gathering  together  the  slaves,  and  whatever 
teams  and  horses  could  be  found.  Meanwhile,  forag 
ing  went  on,  as  there  was  an  abundance  of  geese, 
chickens  and  turkeys.  All  the  planters  were  "  Secesh," 
so  no  restrictions  were  placed  on  the  troops.  The  line 
of  march  continued,  the  contraband  train  continually 
growing  in  length. 

At  Indian  Town  bridge  Gen.  Wild  came  upon  a 
guerrilla  camp.  His  men  started  upon  the  "  double 
quick,"  and  pursued  them  through  woods,  across  corn 
fields,  until  they  came  to  a  swamp.  Here  no  path 
whatever  could  be  seen,  and  how  the  guerrillas  suc 
ceeded  in  covering  their  flight  was,  at  first,  a  mystery  ; 
but  our  men  were  in  for  it  now,  and  did  not  intend  to 
turn  back  before  ferreting  out  the  matter.  They  began 
a  careful  search,  and  soon  found  the  trunk  of  a  felled 
tree,  well-worn  with  footsteps.  Near  by  was  another, 
then  another  till  they  made  quite  a  zig-zag  footpath 
across  the  swamp.  This  solved  the  mystery.  This, 
without  doubt,  led  to  the  guerrilla  quarters.  Going 
single  file  they  came  upon  a  small  island,  which  had 
been  hastily  evacuated — every  thing  was  lying  about  in 
great  confusion.  According  to  orders,  the  soldiers 
burned  the  huts  and  took  possession  of  whatever  was 
worth  keeping.  The  slaves  on  the  plantations,  ahead 
of  the  line,  were  notified  by  scouts  to  be  ready  to  join 
the  train  when  it  should  pass.  By  the  time  it  reached 
Currituck  Court  House  it  was  a  mile  in  length.  After 


132  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

three  weeks  the  entire  expedition  returned  to  Norfolk. 
The  raid  was  considered  a  very  important  one. 

The  tables  were  now  turned.  Those  proud-hearted 
planters,  who  claimed  such  strict  obedience  from  their 
slaves,  now  actually  fell  down  on  their  knees  before 
these  armed  blacks  and  begged  for  their  lives.  The 
great  cry  among  them  was  :  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?"  Yes,  now  they  were  ready  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  give  up  their  slaves;  any  thing  "to  be 
saved."  Whole  families  ran  to  the  swamps  when  they 
heard  that  the  raiders  were  near. 

This  raid  put  at  rest  forever  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  negro  troops  were  efficient  in  any  part  of 
the  service.  They  performed  all  the  duties  of  white 
soldiers  —  scouting,  skirmishing,  picket  duty,  guard 
duty;  and,  lastly,  fighting.  Gen.  Wild  had  decided  at 
one  time  to  attack  a  guerrilla  camp.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  thirty-five  men,  who  were  too  lame  to  march, 
every  man  wanted  to  go  and  fight  the  guerrillas,  not 
withstanding  those  could  remain  back  who  wished  to 
do  so.  A  hundred  men,  however,  were  needed  to 
guard  the  camp.  No  persuasions  could  induce  them 
to  volunteer  to  remain;  so  at  last  Gen.  Wild  was  obliged 
to  detail  the  required  number  for  this  duty.  Did  any 
one  ever  think  that  the  men  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  hunt  runaway  slaves  in  the  swamps  of  the  South 
would  now  be  hiding  there  themselves,  be  hunted  by 
them  ?  Mysterious  are  thy  ways,  Oh,  Lord  ! 

When  the  rebellion  first  broke  out  a  great  many  peo 
ple  thought  "  now  the  slaves  will  make  a  grand  rush 
for  the  Northern  side."  They  had  prayed  so  long  for 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    WAR.  133 

liberty.  Here  it  was,  right  in  their  hand;  but  the 
slaves  did  n't  do  any  such  thing.  Remaining  quiet,  and 
looking  about  to  see  how  things  on  both  sides  were 
moving,  was  the  very  means  that  saved  them.  How 
were  they  to  contend  with  their  masters?  They  had 
no  arms,  nothing  to  fight  with  ;  their  masters  had  been 
collecting  implements  of  war  for  some  time  and  the 
slaves  knew  it;  knew  where  they  were  hid;  knew  all 
the  lines  of  fortification  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  construct.  Ah,  the  slaves  were  too  wise  to  run  any 
risk,  with  nothing  but  hoes  in  their  hands.  They  said 
nothing,  saw  every  thing,  and  at  the  right  time  they 
would  give  the  Union  valuable  information.  The 
Rebels  lost  their  cause,  and  why  ?  Because  the  slaves 
were  loyal  to  the  government.  If  they  had  been  dis 
loyal,  the  Confederates  would  no  doubt  have  won,  or 
else  some  foreign  power  might  have  intervened  and 
made  trouble.  As  it  is,  the  Rebs.  owe  an  old  grudge 
to  the  freedman,  as  much  as  to  say:  "  Its  your  fault  we 
did'nt  win." 

HEROISM    OF    A    CONTRABAND. 

It  was  just  after  the  victory  of  the  Excelsior  Brigade 
at  Fair  Oaks,  when  Gen.  Sickels  received  word  that 
the  enemy  were  advancing.  Orders  for  preparation 
for  battle  were  given.  At  last  all  was  in  readiness  for 
the  advance ;  but  only  a  few  shots  were  to  be  heard  in 
the  distance,  otherwise  every  thing  was  quiet.  What 
did  it  mean  ?  The  General  asked  Lieutenant  Palmer 
to  take  a  squad  of  men  with  him  and  ride  cautiously  to 
the  first  bend  in  the  road,  but  he,  too  impetuous,  rushed 
daringly  ahead  till  he  was  within  range  of  the  enemy. 


134  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

He  fell,  pierced  with  bullets.  His  soldiers  hastily  re 
treated  to  their  camp  and  told  their  news.  Among 
the  listeners  was  a  negro  servant  of  Lieut.  Palmer,  who 
quietly  withdrew  and  walked  down  that  road — that 
road  of  death — for  after  passing  our  picket  guard  he 
was  openly  exposed  to  the  Rebel  sharpshooters.  When 
our  soldiers  came  up,  the  faithful  servant  was  found  by 
the  side  of  his  dead  master.  I  regret  that  the  name  of 
this  heroic  soul  remains  unknown  to  the  world — a 
name  worthy  to  be  emblazoned  on  the  pages  of  history. 
We  used  often  to  hear  the  question  asked,  can  the 
negro  take  care  of  himself?  If  he  is  set  free,  to  rely  on 
his  own  resources,  will  he  not  die  of  starvation  ?  Let 
us  see.  At  Pine  Bluffs  there  was  a  full  black,  known  as 
Uncle  Reuben.  He  was  born  in  Georgia,  and  displayed 
such  energy,  tact,  and  devotion  to  his  master's  interest 
that  he  was  left  in  full  charge  of  every  thing  on  the 
plantation.  The  slave  raised  his  master  from  poverty 
to  wealth.  At  last  his  master  died,  and  his  widow  de 
pended  still  more  upon  Uncle  Reuben,  placing  all  in 
his  hands.  He  became  more  ambitious,  and  succeed 
ed  so  well  that  the  number  of  cotton  bales  increased 
every  year.  The  children  were  sent  North  to  school. 
The  white  overseers  became  jealous  of  him,  and  com 
pelled  his  mistress  to  place  a  white,  nominally,  over  him. 
However,  he  was  not  interfered  with  and  his  mistress 
treated  him  as  kindly  as  she  dared.  Then  the  sons  re 
turned  from  the  North,  with  no  feelings  of  giatitude  to 
one  who  by  his  industry  and  prudence  had  educated 
them,  and  amassed  a  fortune  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  Thank  God,  he  lived  to  see  free 
dom's  light,  and  after  being  assured  that  the  Proclama 
tion  was  a  fact,  he  came  over  to  us. 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    WAR.  135 

A    REMINISCENCE    OF    1863. 

Probably  no  act — the  Ku  Klux  system  excepted — was 
more  distressing  than  the  ever  to-be-remembered  riot 
which  occurred  in  New  York  city  during  the  year  of 
1863.  (The  mob  spirit  first  manifested  itself  at  a 
meeting  held  in  Boston,  December  3d,  1860,  in  observ 
ance  of  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  John  Brown.) 
I  can  but  look  back  and  shudder  at  that  great  carnival 
of  blood.  The  mob  commenced  on  the  roth  of  July, 
and  continued  day  and  night  for  more  than  a  week. 
My  heart  aches  when  memory  recalls  that  awful  day, 
when  the  whole  city  was  in  a  state  of  insurrection. 
The  full  force  of  the  infuriated  mob  fell  upon  the  black 
man,  the  harmless,  unpretending  black  man, "whose  only 
crime  was  that  his  skin  was  of  a  darker  hue  than  his 
white  brethren;  that  he  came  of  a  race  which  for  more 
than  two  hundred  years  has  felt  the  sting  of  slavery  in 
its  very  soul.  I  know  of  no  race  that  has  undergone 
more  sufferings  than  the  black  race  in  America. 

Brought  here  from  our  mother  country,  we  have  be 
dewed  the  soil  with  our  blood  and  tears.  Unlike  the 
Indian,  we  leave  vengeance  to  the  Lord.  "  He  will  re 
pay."  In  this  riot  hundreds  of  colored  people  were 
driven  from  their  homes,  hunted  and  chased  through 
the  streets  like  wild  beasts.  A  sweet  babe  was  brained 
while  holding  up  his  little  arms,  and  smiling  upon  his 
murderers.  Many  little  children  were  killed  in  this 
manner.  Strong  men  were  dragged  from  their  homes 
and  left  dangling  from  some  lamp  post  or  tree,  or  else 
slaughtered  on  the  streets — their  blood  flowing  in 
streams  down  the  pavements.  Able-bodied  men, 
whose  mangled  bodies  hung  up  to  lamp  posts,  were 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

in  a  great  many  instances  burned  to  cinders.  The 
colored  people  were  panic  stricken  and  sought  shelter 
in  out-of-the-way  nooks  and  places ;  but  even  then 
some  were  discovered  by  the  mob  on  their  way  to 
a  retreat  and  quickly  dispatched  ;  hundreds  flocked 
to  the  doors  of  police  stations,  prisons  and  jails,  and 
begged  admittance.  No  colored  man,  woman  or  child 
was  spared  if  found.  As  a  general  thing,  colored  ten 
ants  occupy  whole  streets,  so  the  mob  knew  pretty  well 
what  localities  to  plunder.  Pistol  shots  were  fired 
through  the  windows,  murdering  many  at  their  homes 
and  by  their  firesides.  This  accounts  for  the  great 
loss  of  life,  greater  than  if  the  people  lived  more  scat 
tered.  The  police  were  not  able  to  cope  with  the 
murderers,  though  it  is  believed  they  did  what  they 
could,  going  in  companies  of  two  or  three  hundred  to 
such  parts  of  the  city  as  needed  their  protection  most. 
A  most  heartless  transaction  committed  by  these  fiends, 
was  the  destruction  of  the  colored  Orphan  Asylum, 
after  first  robbing  the  little  children  of  their  clothing. 
These  helpless  lambs  were  driven  friendless  upon  the 
world  from  the  burning  Asylum,  which  had  been  their 
abode.  The  mob  went  on  at  a  terrible  rate. 

My  family  were  quietly  seated  at  the  table  one  bright 
July  morning  when  we  were  startled  by  the  sudden 
ringing  of  the  door  bell.  Upon  responding,  we  found 
that  a  family  with  whom  we  were  well  acquainted  had 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  city,  and  sought  refuge 
in  our  quiet  suburb  until  quietness  and  peace  should 
reign,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  return  to  their  own 
home.  Oh  !  ye  people  of  the  North,  before  you  cen 
sure  too  strongly  the  actions  of  the  South,  rid  your 


RECOLLECTIONS    OK    THE    WAR.  137 

own  soil  of  that  fiendish  element  which  makes,  it  an 
opprobrium  to  call  America  "the  land  of  the  free  and 
the  home  of  the  brave." 

SHERMAN'S  MARCH  THROUGH  GEORGIA. 

During  Sherman's  march  from  Atlanta  to  Savannah, 
many  thousands  of  slaves  came  into  the  ranks,  all  of 
whom  appeared  overjoyed  that  "  de  Yanks,  had  come." 
It  would  often  happen  that  he  would  encamp  on  the 
plantations  that  planters  had  deserted.  Here  would 
be  found  an  abundance  of  the  good  things  of  this  life, 
of  which  the  soldiers  would  readily  partake.  At  one 
place  only  the  old,  decrepit  slaves  were  left.  These 
were  half  naked,  and  nearly  starved  ;  they  had  been 
told  frightful  stories  about  the  cruelties  of  the  Yankee 
soldiers,  and  were  as  frightened  as  could  be  when  the 
army  arrived.  Upon  being  reassured  that  no  harm 
would  be  done  them,  they  were  overwhelming  in  their 
thanks  to  Gen.  Sherman  for  clothing  and  feeding  them. 

And  thus  it  was;  all  along  the  march  the  most  pa 
thetic  scenes  would  occur.  Thousands  of  women,  car 
rying  household  goods,  some  with  children  in  their 
arms,  all  anxious  to  join  the  column.  When  refused, 
some  most  heart-rending  scenes  would  take  place  ;  such 
begging  to  be  allowed  to  go  on  to  Savannah,  where, 
says  one:  "My  chillens  done  been  sold  dese  four 
years;"  or  to  Macon  to  "see  my  boy."  Gen.  Sherman, 
with  great  tact,  succeeded  in  quieting  them,  telling 
them  they  would  return  for  them  some  day  and  they 
must  be  patient.  An  aged  couple  had  been  waiting 
sixty  years  for  deliverance.  No  one  to  see  them  at 
work  on  the  plantation  would  suppose  that  they  were 


138  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

any  thing  but  satisfied  with  their  condition.  No  mur 
mur,  no  words  of  discontent  ever  passed  their  lips  ; 
they  made  no  comments  on  the  actions  of  runaway 
slaves;  their  master  had  no  fears  for  them  ;  yet,  could 
he  have  seen  the  face  of  the  woman  when  she  heard 
that  the  Yankees  had  come,  he  would  have  seen  that 
he  had  not  read  her  heart  aright.  Such  an  expression 
as  her  countenance  assumed  was  terrible  to  behold. 
"  Bress  de  Lord,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  expects  to  follow 
them  till  I  drop  in  my  tracks."  As  her  husband  did 
not  see  the  situation  of  things  as  quickly  as  she  did, 
she  angrily  said  :  u  What  are  you  sitting  dar  fur,  don't 
yer  see  de  door  open  ?  I  'se  not  waited  sixty  years  for 
nuttin'."  It  is  said  that  no  persuasions  would  prevail 
upon  her  to  remain  where  she  had  suffered  so  much, 
and  old  as  she  was  she  would  follow  the  army.  This 
is  only  one  of  the  many  hundred  cases  which  con 
stantly  occurred  during  the  war.  This  poorly  en 
lightened  people  all  seemed  to  think  that  the  Yankees 
would  come  some  time  or  other,  and  that  their  freedom 
was  the  object  of  the  war.  This  notion,  I  suppose, 
they  got  from  hearing  their  masters  talk. 

The  Rebel  leaders  had  their  attention  completely 
absorbed  by  the  vast  preparations  they  were  making 
for  carrying  on  the  war,  by  the  increasing  of  State 
debts,  etc.  The  question  of  arming  the  slaves,  which 
had  been  warmly  debated  at  Richmond,  was  overlook 
ed.  The  governors  of  the  several  Southern  States  had 
also  pondered  this  question  as  the  only  means  to  save 
the  Confederacy,  which  under  its  various  reverses,  was 
slowly  but  surely  dying.  The  South  knew  it  could  not 
hold  out  much  longer.  An  intelligent  mulatto  in  Ma- 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    WAR.  139 

con,  Ga.,  who  used  to  attend  his  master's  store  would 
often  make  mention  of  such  conversation  as  he  over 
heard  between  his  master  and  some  of  the  first  men  of 
the  city.  They  used  to  get  together  in  the  counting- 
room  and  say  :  "  It  was  no  use  to  fight  the  North  any 
longer  ;  the  South  would  surely  be  whipped  in  the  end, 
and  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done,  would  be  to  fix 
up  the  old  Union."  When  asked  if  these  men  talked 
so  on  the  public  street,  he  replied :  "  No  sir,"  these  very 
men  would  go  out  on  the  street  and  talk  wild  about 
"whipping  the  Yankees,  the  South  never  giving  up, 
and  a  lot  of  other  trash."  'It  is  said  that  the  Rebels 
so  frightened  their  slaves,  telling  them  stories  of  the 
cruelties  which  would  be  practiced  upon  them  if  ever 
they  put  themselves  in  the  power  of  the  Yankees  that 
the  most  ignorant  knew  scarcely  which  way  to  turn, 
when  the  question  of  arming  the  slaves  was  discussed. 
There  was  nothing  said  by  the  South  about  the  reward 
for  their  services.  It  rather  looked  upon  them  in  the 
same  light  as  when  they  worked  in  the  field;  neither 
was  it  prepared  to  meet  the  various  objections  raised 
by  the  white  soldiers,  if  compelled  to  fight  with  them, 
side  by  side.  So,  as  all  parties  could  not  be  satisfied, 
the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop,  though  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  to  save  herself,  a  few  would  have  been 
willing  to  have  increased  their  forces,  by  accepting  the 
assistance  of  the  slave. 


140  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  EXODUS. 

Arrival  of  negroes  in  Washington — Hospitality  of  Washington 
people — Suffering  and  privation — Education  of  the  freedmen — 
Causes  of  emigration — Cruelty  at  the  South — Prejudice  at  the 
North — Hopes  for  the  future. 

HE  Rebellion  at  length  closed  after  a  bloody 
carnage  of  about  four  years.  The  manacles 
of  the  slave  had  been  burst  asunder.  Left 
in  abject  poverty,  he  is  suddenly  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources  for  support.  In  many  instances  the  ex-slave 
holder  employed  his  former  slaves  on  his  plantation, 
paying  them  certain  wages  ;  others  hired  their  own 
ground,  and  being  perfectly  familiar  with  the  raising 
of  cotton,  sugar,  corn  and  other  grain,  succeeded  in 
making  quite  a  comfortable  living  and  having  some 
thing  laid  by  "  for  a  rainy  day."  But  this  was  not  to 
last  long.  The  peace  of  the  quiet  villages  and  towns 
was  soon  disturbed  by  night-raiders.  Law-abiding 
citizens  were  torn  from  their  beds  at  midnight,  hung, 
robbed  and  flogged.  This  was  not  alone  confined  to 
black  men,  but  white  men  also  suffered.  The  cruel 
ties  inflicted  upon  both  races  during  this  "  reign  of 
terror"  are  almost  indescribable. 


THE    EXODUS. 


141 


This,  together  with  the  unjust  treatment  by  the 
planters  in  relation  to  paying  wages,  renting  land,  etc., 
forms  the  cause  of  the  exodus.  We  read  accounts  of 
where  hundreds  are  leaving  their  native  soil  and  be 
ginning  life  anew  in  another  clime.  Whether  they 
will  be  able  to  withstand  the  rigorous  winters  of  the 
West  remains  to  be  seen.  Already  many  have  perished 
from  exhaustion  and  cold,  not  being  sufficiently  clad, 
and  being  wholly  without  means  to  procure  articles 
necessary  to  their  comfort.  Yet  when  we  look  back 
and  see  the  wrongs  heaped  upon  a  poor,  down-trodden 
race  we  can  not  but  cry  :  "  On  with  the  Exodus  !" 

I  had  read  of  hundreds  of  freedmen  leaving  their 
homes  and  starting  for  the  West,  but  I  never  expected 
to  be  an  eye  witness  of  such  a  scene.  In  December, 
1879,  while  visiting  Washington,  preparatory  to  going 
further  South,  there  arrived  at  the  depot  from  two  to 
three  hundred  freed  people,  among  which  were  a  num 
ber  of  children.  It  seems  their  money  gave  out  as 
they  reached  Washington,  and  here  they  must  remain 
until  means  could  be  obtained  to  send  them  further  on. 
Here  they  were  strangers  ;  no  where  to  go,  near  the 
edge  of  evening,  yet  no  where  to  lay  their  heads.  At 
this  crisis  the  Rev.  Mr.  Draper  hearing  of  their  situa 
tion  kindly  offered  them  his  church,  (St.  Paul,  8th  St., 
South  Washington),  till  other  arrangements  could  be 
made.  Here  they  were  made  as  comfortable  as  possi 
ble,  and  seemed  pleased  that  they  were  under  shelter. 
I  was  told  that  quite  a  number  had  gone  on  some 
weeks  before,  and  that  they  were  mostly  men.  This 
last  party  had  a  majority  of  women,  many  of  them  go 
ing  on  to  meet  their  husbands.  The  people  of  Wash- 


142  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

ington  were  very  kind  to  the  strangers,  giving  them 
food  and  clothing  in  abundance.  On  the  Sunday  fol 
lowing  their  arrival,  the  pavements  were  blockaded  for 
squares,  all  anxious  to  get  a  peep  at  them.  The 
church  was  not  a  large  one,  so  to  prevent  confusion, 
visitors  were  requested  to  pass  in  one  door  and  out  of 
the  other. 

Within,  a  novel  sight  presented  itself;  the  gallery  in 
the  rear  of  the  church  had  the  appearance  of  a  nurse 
ry.  Children,  from  a  two  months'  babe  upwards,  were 
lying  here  and  there  upon  the  benches,  or  under  them 
fast  asleep.  Others  were  busily  engaged  in  satisfying 
the  inner  man.  The  day  I  was  present  there  was  a 
reporter  gathering  scraps  of  information  for  his  paper. 
It  was  really  interesting  to  hear  some  of  them  converse. 
Many  appeared  to  be  quite  intelligent ;  says  one  :  "  Do 
you  suppose  I'd  leave  my  little  home,  which  I  owned, 
and  go  to  a  place  I  know  nothing  of  unless  I  was  com 
pelled  to.  '  Taint  natur.  We  heard  dey  killed  a  man 
the  day  we  left,  dey  was  so  mad,  and  in  some  places 
dey  tore  up  de  track  to  keep  us  from  leaving."  Says 
the  reporter:  "  Suppose  you  get  to  Indiana  and  you 
find  no  work  there?"  Answered:  "Den  I  keeps  going 
till  I  finds  it."  They  all  seemed  willing  to  work  if 
they  could  only  find  it  to  do. 

Visitors,  as  they  passed  around,  on  coming  to  the 
altar  found  two  small  baskets  into  which  they  could 
drop  as  much  money  as  they  felt  disposed.  This  was 
to  assist  in  defraying  the  expenses  the  rest  of  the  jour 
ney.  As  often  as  a  certain  amount  was  made  up,  they 
would  send  away  so  many  at  a  time. 

There    was    among    the    company  a  white    woman, 


THE    EXODUS.  143 

whom  at  first  I  took  to  be  a  leader,  as  she  seemed  so 
energetic,  going  out  and  begging  proper  clothing  for 
the  most  destitute,  distributing  food,  among  them,  etc. 
But  upon  conversing  with  her  I  found  I  was  mistaken. 
She  assured  me  she  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  "  Exo 
dus,"  as  the  rest.  That  she  received  no  better  treat 
ment  at  her  home  than  the  rest  did,  and  she  was  glad 
to  get  away.  Some  of  the  prominent  lady  members  of 
St.  Paul's  Chapel  were  most  kind  in  their  attentions  to 
the  wanderers,  leaving  their  own  duties  at  home  to 
spend  days  in  administering  to  their  comfort;  and  often 
were  the  expressions,  "  God  bless  you,  de  Lord  will 
pay  you  back,  honey,"  heard  on  all  sides.  I  did  not 
have  an  opportunity  to  see  them  but  ooce,  for  when  I 
went  again  I  found  they  had  gone;  and  it  is  hoped 
they  have  all  found  good,  comfortable  homes,  in  that 
land  towards  which  their  hearts  had  turned  with  so 
much  faith  and  hope. 

TERRIBLE    SUFFERING    OF    THE    FREEDMEN    AT 
WASHINGTON. 

A  host  of  miserable  women  with  children,  besides 
old,  crippled  and  sick  persons  were  driven  out  of  Mary 
land  and  sought  refuge  here.  Those  who  were  able  to 
work  went  out  by  the  day  to  earn  money  with  which 
to  pay  a  rent  of  from  five  to  six  dollars  for  some  old 
shanty,  garret,  cellar  or  stable.  Hundreds  of  old  per 
sons  and  children  were  without  shoes  and  stockings, 
and  were  badly  frost-bitten.  Infants,  only  a  few  days 
old,  without  a  garment,  perished  with  cold.  Very  few 
of  the  older  persons  had  any  under-garments,  for  they 
came  from  Maryland  and  Virginia  clothed  in  rags  ; 


144          At'Toiuor.KAi'iiy   01     i  AMKS  i.   SMITH. 

very  few  had  comfortable  beds  and  household  utensils. 
The  children  died  off  rapidly.  During  the  hot  weather 
the  quartermaster's  department  furnished  about  eighty 
coffins  per  week,  mostly  for  children,  "  In  slavery," 
the  mothers  say,  "  our  children  never  dies  ;  it  'pears 
like  they  all  dies  here."  One  family  lost  five  out  of 
ten  children  ;  another,  three  out  of  seven.  Sleeping 
on  the  shanty  and  stable  lloors  during  the  winter 
brought  on  colds  and  pulmonary  diseases  which  termi 
nated  the  lives  of  hundreds.  The  ladies  of  the  District 
were  indefatigable  in  their  efforts  to  ielie\e  them. 
Those  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  kindly  solicited  aid  for 
these  distressed  people,  gathering  clothing  of  every 
kind,  and  were  tjuite  successful  in  sending  something 
to  their  afflicted  brethren. 

KDUCATINC     TI1K    IKl'KMMKN. 

This  is  a  matter  which  absorbed  the  minds  of  the 
North  :  whether  the  negro  would  learn,  and  eagerly 
improve  the  facilities  opened  to  him  through  his  libe 
ration.  Almost  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war 
barracks  used  by  the  soldiers  were  turned  into  school- 
houses,  and  it  was  no  rare  sight  to  see  a  number  of 
these  freedmcn  crowded  into  them,  over  whom  pre 
sided  some  noble-hearted  lady  engaged  in  her  duties 
as  school-marm.  Would  they  learn?  Let  the  record 
of  the  last  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  testify. 

I  can  not  let  this  opportunity  pass  without  paying  a 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  Miss  Stebbins, 
who  died  while  devoting  her  life  to  this  cause.  When 
1  last  saw  her  she  was  in  Washington,  1).  ('.,  at  the 
barracks  on  the  corner  of  Seventh  and  O  Streets. 


THE   EXODUS.  I  H 

She  lived  in  one  portion  of  the  building,  .-mo1,  altl 
school  hours  were  over, 

interesting  girls  in  the  In 

one  corner  of  the  room  were  boxes  of  clothing 
she  distributed  among  the  mo  I  of  hei   p 

that  they  might  look  prevntabk-  (\;,y  after  day.      Not. 
only  children,  bul  adults  attended  school,  and  il 

not  uii'r,'i;i!  to    see    ;i.    fath'-r    ai  a    mother    and 

daughter  in  the  same  class,  to  learn 

v/iio   kepi   a  .  -i   for  the 

benefit  of  those  who  w 

work,  to  attend  during  the  day  :  "  I  had  a  boy  pr- 
himself  as  wishing  to  become  a  member  of  th':  /.hool. 

Aft'.-r  'ix.'irniriiri^  I, no,  I  fo-in'J  he  if;  in 

all  the  fir.t   pnii'  IpleS  of  ;irithin«:f  i^  ,  <-Y.<.<:\,\  lo 
ion;  of  tin' >   IH;   knew   nothing.       I    w;-s  ;isfonisli':H    to 
find,  after  going  over  a  few  examples,  '-/cpl^ming  ' 
fully  as  1  went,  along,  that  when  the-  pem.il    was   put  in 
his  hand  he-  worked  as  well  a.  I  could/'      from  that 

night  he-  \\;\A  no  more  trouble  with  long  o1!'. . 
That  boy  was  aft'-:  •.  hard  student  at  Howard 

University,  and  learned  ?o  read  Latin  v. . 

What,  rntion,  aft<  oi  -.'-rvif urJe,  i, 

r.vpi'l  strides  of  improvement?     /Ml  over  tlie-  South  we 
find    •  with    '-ffiM'-nt.    t".  '  . -ny   of  whom 

were  formerly  pupils,  DO 

others  had  taken  them.     'I  hebarracks  hi  -i  way 

to   '  hool  buildings  of  the  m  -        -,.      Th'.- 

schools  are  all  graded,  the  scholars  adva  \>  by 

step  till  th  .  the  topmost  round.      Perhap 

better  examples  can  be  furnished  than  the  Jjistr;' 
Coluiribia,  wliere  the  '/hool  system  11  fixed  ::,- 
firmer  anrl  better  i;asis  lh;>  re. 


140  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE    END. 

The  emigration  of  my  people  from  the  Southern 
States  has  engaged  my  attention  for  some  time.  In 
Heathsville,  Va.,  the  place  of  my  birth,  the  colored 
people  are  not  treated  with  such  severity  as  in  the 
States  further  South,  for  in  Heathsville,  they  have 
more  privileges  than  they  have  in  Western  Virginia.  I 
think  the  cause  of  this  great  emigration  is  owing  to  the 
fact  of  ill  treatment,  equal  almost  to  slavery  ;  because 
of  cruelties  heaped  upon  them  in  the  South,  and  be 
cause  of  the  hopelessness  of  obtaining  an  education  for 
their  children.  It  was  the  burden  of  their  complaint ; 
their  political  rights  had  been  denied  them,  and  every 
possible  advantage  had  been  taken  from  them,  and 
feeling  aggrieved  they  had  looked  around  for  relief,  and 
the  only  solace  offered  was  to  emigrate.  In  some  parts 
of  the  South  our  people  labor  without  hardly  wages 
enough  to  get  them  food,  which  places  many  of  them 
in  a  starving  condition,  and  without  sufficient  clothing. 
Twenty-five  cents  a  day  is  considered  great  wages, 
taking  part  corn  for  pay.  My  heart  has  been  drawn 
out  for  them  in  sympathy,  knowing  myself  what  it  was 
to  want,  even  in  Virginia,  a  meal  of  victuals. 

The  emigrants  adopted  a  plan  of  action  to  appeal  to 
President  Hayes,  for  him  to  enforce  the  laws  to  protect 
their  rights.  Then  they  appealed  to  Congress  to  set 
apart  a  territory,  or  aid  them  to  emigrate  to  Liberia. 
Our  people  lost  all  hope  of  bettering  their  condition  at 
that  time.  In  1877  they  petitioned  Congress  and  Presi 
dent  Hayes.  Not  hearing  from  this  petition,  the  color 
ed  emigrants  became  exasperated,  saying,  "let  us  go 
any  where  in  God's  world  to  get  away  from  these  men 


x  THE    EXODUS.  147 

who  once  enslaved  us."  Many  of  the  white  republi 
cans  of  the  South  are  treated  not  much  better  than  the 
colored  people,  because  they  are  republicans.  Since 
they  have  emigrated  many  children,  fathers  and  moth 
ers  have  died  from  starvation  and  exposure,  for  they 
were  without  shelter  and  nothing  to  wear,  lying  on  the 
cold  ground,  exposed  to  the  winter  blasts  with  only 
the  sky  for  a  covering. 

The  number  of  those  who  poured  in  upon  the  State 
of  Kansas,  early  in  the  spring  of  1879,  is  known  to  have 
been  four  or  five  thousand.  Steadily  has  been  the 
flow  of  the  small  stream  which  attracted  so  little  atten 
tion,  and  by  the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1880  over 
ten  thousand  arrived,  and  probably  since  the  spring  of 
1880  twice  the  number  have  emigrated.  I  think  that 
something  must  be  the  cause  for  their  great  emigration 
more  than  common,  for  my  people  are  a  home-like 
people;  they  would  never  leave  the  Southern  soil  if 
properly  treated,  or  had  wages  enough  to  make  them 
comfortable;  as  a  general  thing  they  are  home-loving 
and  law  abiding  citizens.  While  living  South  they  felt 
they  had  "  no  rights  that  the  white  man  was  bound  to 
respect." 

All  praise  is  due  to  Mrs.  Comstock,  for  her  self-de 
nying  philanthropy  exhibited  towards  my  people,  for 
they  must  have  suffered  more  had  it  not  been  for  her 
endeavors,  in  writing  all  over  the  United  States  to  our 
most  prominent  citizens  for  help  to  relieve  their  suffer 
ings.  The  people  in  many  places  have  responded  to 
her  call.  Here,  in  Norwich,  the  ladies  have  come  up 
to  the  work  as  they  always  do  where  assistance  is 
needed  among  my  people.  God  bless  them  for  what 


148  AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    JAMES    L.    SMITH. 

they  have  done;  hoping  that  they  will  think  of  them 
in  the  future,  as  they  are  still  leaving  their  land  of 
slavery,  as  they  expect  the  freedom  which  they  have 
fought  for  and  hoped  for.  In  their  going  away  their 
places  can  not  be  filled,  for  they  were  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  South. 

While  I  write,  there  are  fifty  thousand  pounds  of 
clothing,  sent  on  in  1879  from  England,  held  at  the 
New  York  Custom  House  for  duty  to  be  paid  on  them. 
They  were  sent  for  my  people  in  Kansas.  It  is  wicked 
to  deprive  these  poor,  suffering  people  of  comfortable 
clothing  while  so  many  are  dying  for  the  want  of  it.  I 
trust  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  everywhere  will  be  so 
softened  towards  my  injured  people  that  they  will  be 
induced  to  send  them  on,  even  if  obliged  to  pay  the 
duty  on  them,  and  not  wait  for  Congress  to  decide. 
Shall  this  people  die,  who  have  stood  by  us  in  sunshine 
and  storm?  Shall  we  let  them  suffer  for  the  want  of 
bread,  for  the  want  of  corn,  for  the  want  of  clothing? 
God  forbid  it !  As  they  stood  by  the  flag  once,  they 
stand  by  it  still,  because  it  bespeaks  freedom  to  them 
and  their  posterity. 

When  the  Rebel  army  was  five  miles  from  the  Capi 
tal,  and  the  skirmishers  were  three  miles  from  George 
town,  when  it  was  conjectured  that  the  assault  would 
take  place  the  next  morning,  it  was  then  our  colored 
soldiers  met  the  waves  of  conflict  ;  it  was  then  the 
bone  and  sinews  of  the  South  saved  the  Capital  of 
the  United  States.  Aye  ;  my  soul  listens  already  to 
the  glad  prelude  of  the  song  of  triumph,  welling  up 
from  myriads  of  hearts,  and  swelling  into  a  paean  that 
fills  the  vast  concave  of  heaven  itself  with  the  deep- 


THE    EXODUS.  149 

toned  melodies  of  an  universal  jubilee :  "Washington 
is  saved  !"  Then  our  colored  soldiers  came  up  to  its 
rescue,  which  contradicts  the  saying,  that  colored  men 
will  not  fight.  Well  did  they  do  their  duty,  and  proved 
their  manhood  at  Fort  Wagner,  Fort  Moultrie,  Peters 
burg,  Milliken's  Bend,  Fort  Fisher,  and  other  places, 
while  their  families  were  left  starving  at  home. 
We  all  know  that  these  things  are  so,  although  they  are 
not  recorded  in  history  with  other  events  of  the  war. 

We  hope  the  time  will  come  when  our  children,  at 
tending  white  seminaries  of  learning,  may  receive  med 
als  the  same  as  white  students.  In  Connecticut,  and 
elsewhere,  prizes  and  medals  have  been,  and  are  with 
held  from  our  most  brilliant  scholars  of  color.  In  one 
of  our  Eastern  colleges  a  colored  student  was  robbed 
of  his  essay,  and  had  recourse  to  a  law-suit  to  have 
justice  done  him  ;  but  was  obliged  to  write  another, 
and  received  the  prize  at  his  graduation,  after  the  law 
suit  was  ended.  He  was  obliged  to  go  another  year  in 
order  to  accomplish  it.  The  wrongs  of  this  system  will 
go  up  before  the  Throne  of  Infinite  Justice. 

The  United  States  ought  to  be  strong  enough  in  in 
tellect,  in  moral  sensibility  and  Christian  feeling,  to 
conquer  her  prejudices.  Until  she  does,  the  poet's 
tribute  to  "Columbia"  as  "the  land  of  the  free  and 
home  of  the  brave,"  will  be  a  satire  that  shall  provoke 
a  reproachful  smile— attesting  her  fidelity  to  justice  and 
liberty,  God  and  man. 

The  leading  question  of  to-day  is,  why  do  the  color 
ed  people  emigrate  ?  Almost  every  day  and  week  dur 
ing  the  spring  of  1880,  it  was  discussed  among  the  sena 
tors  and  representatives  in  Congress,  the  argument 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  J.  L.  SMITH. — THE  EXODUS. 

having  taken  up  most  of  the  time;  the  question  also 
created  quite  a  discussion  in  1879;  the  Southern  sen 
ators,  who  were  the  majority  in  the  Senate,  were  loath 
to  drop  the  question. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  say  that  the  more  I  contem 
plate  the  condition  of  my  people,  the  more  I  am  con- 
'vinced  that  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  end;  but 
the  end  is  not  yet. 


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